Historic Map : Cruchley Map of European Turkey and Greece, Version 2, 1852, Vintage Wall Art

This is a beautiful 1852 map of Greece, the Balkans and the European part of Turkey by George Frederick Cruchley. It covers from Moldavia to Candia and from the Gulf of Venice or the Adriatic Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The modern day states of Greece, Albania, Moldova, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania are included. Throughout, major towns, cities, rivers, mountains and other topographical features are noted.

This map was made when the Ottoman Empire controlled much of the region. It depicts the waning years of Ottoman hegemony in the region, with the Greek nationalist movement attaining independence for the Peloponnese in 1821. The Ionian Republic, under the protection of Great Britain, was also free of Ottoman control. The other Grecian and Balkan states, including Serbia, Croatia, Moldavia, Wallachia, Albania, and Macedonia, remained at least nominally under Ottoman control until 1878.

Cruchley's General Atlas was unique for its period, employing a vivid color scheme extending even to the oceans, distinctive typography, and various uncommon decorative elements including a peacock feather crown and an imprint medallion, both of which break the printed border.  Though many of the maps in this atlas are copyrighted in 1842, the atlas was first published in 1843 from the Cruchley office at 81 Fleet Street, London, and proving popular went through numerous reissues well into the 1850s.