Old Map of Bath in 1851 by John Rapkin - The Circus, Royal Crescent, Bath Abbey

This map of Bath was engraved by John Rapkin and published by J. Tallis & Co in 1851, at the height of industrialised Victorian Britain, capturing the elegant Georgian spa city in fine decorative detail. Bath's street names and layout have changed remarkably little in the century and a half since, making it easy to trace familiar routes across the map today.

The Circus and the Royal Crescent both appear exactly as they still stand, alongside Bath Abbey in the bottom right corner of the sheet, with the River Avon threading through the valley below the city's famous hillside terraces. Intriguingly, the Roman Baths complex familiar to modern visitors was not actually completed until 1897, so this 1851 engraving captures the city just before that celebrated attraction took its present-day form, showing instead the Georgian streets and squares that had already defined Bath for a century.

This map makes a fitting housewarming gift for someone moving to Bath, a birthday or Christmas present for a proud local, or a wedding and anniversary gift for a couple married in the city. It also suits a retirement or leaving gift for a colleague with a soft spot for the area. The engraved linework has been carefully restored so the Circus, the Crescent and the Abbey all remain sharp and legible.