NO RESERVE

"Warsaw (Warszawa)", SDUK Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge

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 steel engraved plan of the city shows the sparsely-built Praga district across the river, with a note that the district had burned in 1794 and 1831. A red boundary in Warsaw indicates the city boundary in 1764, while beyond it an orange outline highlights the walled fortifications of the city. The bottom of the map has sixteen illustrations of structures of interest, including several churches, the Academy of Sciences, the School of Fine Arts, and the Jerozolimskie Gate. Drawn by W.B. Clarke, engraved by T.E.N. Nicholson, and published by Charles Knight.

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Condition: A

Original color with a small abrasion at bottom left and minor toning and some tiny edge tears along the sheet's edges.