Holland & Belgium Map 1864 Wyld Railways Atlas Print - Amsterdam, Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam

James Wyld drew this map of Holland and Belgium, formerly the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and S. Stockley engraved it for An Atlas of the World, published by James Wyld at Charing Cross East, London, in 1864. Wyld styled himself Geographer to Her Majesty and to the late Prince Albert. The sheet measures 33 by 27 centimeters, with boundaries outlined by hand and relief shown in hachures, and it uses Greenwich as its prime meridian. It shows the railways and includes a statistical table of area and population, with Atlas of the World printed in the upper right corner. Wyld's maps were known for their clear lettering and sober style, and the half leather and cloth binding with its gold title is typical of the Victorian atlas trade.

The catalog calls the atlas a late edition of a work first published as early as 1836, updated to show the growth of railroads and enlarged with new maps of Australia and South Africa. A map titled Holland and Belgium, formerly the Kingdom of the Netherlands, records the settlement that followed the revolution of 1830, when the two countries went their separate ways. By 1864 railways were drawing the cities closer together, and the statistical table gave the traveler and the merchant the facts of area and population at a glance. The atlas is bound in half leather and cloth with its title stamped in gold on the cover.

A collector of Victorian atlas maps, a family with roots in Holland or Belgium, or a railway enthusiast will find a useful gift here. TheMapVault's Greenleaf sheet of 1840 shows the same pair of countries before the railways spread, whereas this Wyld map of 1864 records the network. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print.