Old Map of Edinburgh in 1853 by WB Clarke and George Cox - Waverley Station, Old Town, Arthur's Seat

This finely detailed map of Edinburgh was drawn by WB Clarke and published by George Cox in 1853, capturing the Scottish capital at the height of the railway age. Scotland's rapidly expanding railway network was reshaping Edinburgh's geography at the time, and this rare coloured plan records the city just as its Old Town and New Town were being stitched together by iron rails and freshly laid streets, offering a fascinating snapshot of a capital in the midst of Victorian transformation.

Across the plate, the newly built Edinburgh Waverley station anchors the valley between Old Town and New Town, having replaced the earlier Canal Street station on the very same site, while the tracks of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway thread out toward the west. The map traces George Street and Princes Street running through the New Town's grid, the ancient closes and wynds of the Old Town clustered beneath Edinburgh Castle, and the ridge of Calton Hill rising to the east. Arthur's Seat looms over the whole scene, and the Water of Leith is picked out in blue as it winds along the western edge of the city, with several streets and blocks shown still awaiting construction.

With its blend of railway history and Old Town charm, this map makes a thoughtful housewarming, retirement, birthday or Christmas gift for anyone with roots in Edinburgh, a fondness for Scottish history, or a passion for early railways, and it also suits a distinctive corporate gift for a Scotland-based business. Every engraved line and place name has been carefully restored from the original 1853 plate for a crisp, richly detailed print.