This rare and colorful pictorial map celebrates the history of athleticism in Great Britain. It was "drawn with divers embellishments" by Alfred E. Taylor and published as a promotional item for Eno's Fruit Salt, a popular cure-all in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, now used as an antacid. Great Britain is dense with illustrations showing a surprising range of sports, including wrestling, tennis, lacrosse, ice hockey, rock climbing, sailing, curling, fishing, steeplechasing, stag hunting, bardic contests, and darts. The map is surrounded by an elaborately designed border that incorporates mighty figures from classical mythology, such as Amazons, Diana, Ulysses, Atalanta, Hercules, Jason, and Atlas. Throughout the map are literary quotes on sport, most notably a cut of verse from Samuel Rowlands that appears as part of the ornate title cartouche. The map is further embellished by a compass rose built around a ring of dancers. Printed by Vincent Brooks, Day & Son Ltd. This is only the fourth example of this map we have seen on the market, and the first we have seen that is in a poster format rather than a folding pocket map format.

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Condition: A

A crisp, colorful example with a couple short archivally repaired edge tears that enter the border at top. In the blank margins there is light dampstaining and soiling and some chipping along the left edge, well away from the image.