Historic Map : Tardieu Antique Map of Asia, 1874, Vintage Wall Art

This is a beautiful 1874 map of Asia by Ambroise Tardieu. It covers from the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey eastward as far as Kamchatka and Japan and includes the Empires of Hindoostan (India), China (includes Tibet), Persia (Iran), Afghanistan, Beloochistan, Birmah (Burma), Japan, Russia, etc. Also included are portions of Europe and the East Indies. Throughout, the map identifies various railroads, cities, towns, rivers, islands, mountain passes and an assortment of additional topographical details. The map is color coded according to regional and political boundaries with elevation rendered by hachure.

Tibet and Korea (Corea) are included within the borders of the Chinese Empire. The disputed body of water between Korea and Japan is here identified as the 'Sea of Japan.' Taiwan or Formosa is mapped vaguely, representing the poor knowledge of the region prior to the Japanese invasion and subsequent survey work in 1895.

As this map was drawn, Imperial China wilted under the weak Qing Dynasty while the Russian Empire attained the height of its pan-continental expansion. Turkey and the Middle East were under Ottoman rule while the British Raj governed of India.

This map was prepared by Ambroise Tardieu and issued as plate 21 in his 1874 edition of Atlas Universel de Geographie Ancienne et Moderne.