Historic Map : Mitchell Map of India, 1849, Vintage Wall Art

This is an attractive example of S. A. Mitchell's 1849 map of India. It covers the Indian subcontinent in considerable detail, with princely states and British possessions color coded. An inset in the lower right hand quadrant details the Delta of the Ganges River. Political and topographical features are noted and color coded with elevation rendered by hachure.

As this map was being drawn, the Indian subcontinent under the hegemony of the British East India Company. The newly appointed Governor General, Lord Dalhousie brought along several progressive changes including education, railways, canals, telegraph etc. At the same time dissatisfaction with the East India Company was rapidly growing. In 1857, the Sepoys of the British East Indian Company would revolt in India's First War of Independence. This would ultimately lead to the dissolution of the East India Company. Subsequently governance of India would be administered directly by the British Crown. The British Raj ruled India until its independence in 1947.

The whole is engraved and colored in Mitchell's distinctive style with green border work and vivid pastels. Mitchell published this chart in his atlas from 1846 to the late 1850s before discontinuing the series and selling his map plates to DeSilver. This map was issued in the 1849 edition of the New Universal Atlas. It was the last edition of that atlas to be published by Mitchell prior to selling the plates and rights to the atlas to Thomas Cowperthwait in 1850.