Old Map of Dublin, Ireland in 1851 by Tallis & Rapkin - Central Dublin, Temple Bar, Stoneybatter, Docklands, River Liffey, Leinster

1851 was the year London staged the Great Exhibition, and it was for the accompanying wave of interest in geography that the publisher John Tallis commissioned his Illustrated Atlas of the World, engraved on steel by John Rapkin and issued as one of the last great decorative atlases of the Victorian age. Dublin, then the second city of the United Kingdom and a major administrative and commercial hub, was given its own dedicated plan within the atlas, dressed in the ornamental vignettes that made Tallis and Rapkin's work so distinctive. Small engraved views of St Patrick's Cathedral, the Custom House, and the Four Courts surround the map itself, turning what could have been a plain city plan into a decorative record of Dublin at the height of its Victorian civic pride.

The plan covers central Dublin in detail, taking in Temple Bar and the old lanes around Dublin Castle, and follows the River Liffey as it runs past the Custom House toward the docklands and quays where transatlantic and coastal trade was concentrated. Stoneybatter is marked to the north of the river, and the map extends out to the wider province of Leinster in which Dublin sits. Trinity College, Phoenix Park, Sackville Street, and the Grand Canal are also shown, giving a rounded picture of a city that was simultaneously a seat of government, a university town, and a busy port.

Dubliners tracing their family's city roots, and collectors of the Tallis and Rapkin decorative atlases in particular, will recognise this as one of the more sought-after plans in the series thanks to its vignette views. We reproduce the map at high resolution to keep both the street detail and the miniature engravings sharp, with sizing options that range from a modest print to a substantial statement piece.