Historic Map : Burr Antique Map of The Eastern Hemisphere, 1834, Vintage Wall Art

This is a beautiful first edition 1834 David Burr map of the Eastern Hemisphere. It covers the entirety of Asia, Africa and Europe as well as Australia and the East Indies and much of the Pacific. Important cities, rivers, islands and mountains, along with other topographical features are noted.

Although 'New Holland' officially changed its name to Australia in 1824, it is here referred to by its older Dutch name, a term that would fall out of favor shortly after this map was printed. The interior however, is entirely unexplored. In Africa, the source of the White Nile is set in the speculative Mountains of the Moon. The interiors of Africa and Asia here follow archaic geographical conventions - giving evidence to the general lack of knowledge about these regions in the early 19th century. The Great Wall of China is noted, but not identified.

According to Ristow, although Burr is credited on the title page, he left this atlas incomplete. He was appointed as topographer to the U.S. Post Office, and of the siin xty-three maps finally included in this atlas, only completed eight. The rest of the maps were then completed by Illman and Pilbrow in Burr's style. The map was ‘Entered according to act of Congress in the year 1834 by Illman & Pilbrow in the Clerk's office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York', but not published until the atlas was released in 1835. Engraved and Printed by Illman & Pilbrow and published by D. S. Stone in Burr's New Universal Atlas.