Catalog Archive
Auction 149, Lot 594

"Constantinople. Stambool", SDUK Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge

Subject: Istanbul, Turkey

Period: 1840 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Hand Color

Size:
15.5 x 12.5 inches
39.4 x 31.8 cm
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The beginning of the nineteenth century saw a period of rapid market growth and innovation in the map publishing world. Increased literacy and public interest in new frontiers and colonies overwhelmed the market because it was oriented toward the small, affluent market of the previous century. With the intent to fill this void, The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (SDUK) was founded in 1828 in London, by Lord Brougham and a group of men dedicated to the education of the aspiring working class and the Utilitarian ideal of 'Knowledge is Power.' The society produced an array of education materials, but the series of maps was one of their most successful ventures. A number of engravers and printers were used to produce the maps, which eventually exceed 200 sheets, and continued to be published after the Society as a whole ceased to function.

This detailed steel engraved plan includes the city and the region north to above San Dimitri. Several ports, cemeteries, barracks, embassies, and mosques are identified. Three distance scales are included. Engraved by B.R. Davies.

References:

Condition: B+

Original color with some light foxing concentrated in the left portion of the image and minor toning along the sheet's edges. A chip outside the neatline in the top left corner has been replaced.

Estimate: $110 - $150

Sold for: $65

Closed on 5/21/2014

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