A classic 1840 world map from A & C Black’s General Atlas of the World, engraved by Scottish printer George Aikman. Drawn on Mercator’s projection, it reflects the era’s geographic knowledge: coastlines are largely established, while the poles and many continental interiors remain incomplete or conjectural.

Features / Details

• Date: 1840

• Projection: Mercator

• Map Type: World map from General Atlas of the World

• Publisher (original): A & C Black

• Engraver: George Aikman (1788–1865)

• Geographic Notes: Antarctic omitted; Arctic details incomplete

• Interior Detail (c. 1840): Largely speculative in Central Asia, South America, the western United States, Australia, and especially Africa

• Coloring: Continents outlined in different colors (later editions used solid fills)

Source & Rights
Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.
You will receive a newly made, high-resolution fine-art print of this historical map (not the original artifact).