Old Pictorial Map of the British Isles in 1939 by Ernest Dudley Chase - London, Edinburgh, Dublin
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This charming reproduction reproduces a richly illustrated pictorial map of the British Isles first published in 1939 by the American artist Ernest Dudley Chase. Chase trained as a graphic artist before turning his talents to cartography, and he went on to become one of the twentieth century's most prolific and best-loved makers of decorative pictorial maps. Rather than a strict navigational chart, this map is a playful visual tour of England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Northern Ireland, filled with small illustrated vignettes of famous buildings, landmarks, and everyday scenes that Chase felt captured the character of each nation on the eve of the Second World War.
Dotted across the map are dozens of named cities and landmarks brought to life with hand-drawn illustrations, including London, Oxford, Reading, and Gloucester in England, Swansea in Wales, Liverpool and Manchester in the industrial north, Edinburgh, Perth, Inverness, and Aberdeen across Scotland, and Londonderry, Dublin, Cork, and Galway representing Ireland. Belfast is picked out with illustrated vignettes of Belfast Castle and Belfast City Hall, while the surrounding seas and countryside are filled with charming decorative touches typical of Chase's pictorial style. Together these illustrations turn the map into both a geography lesson and a storybook of the British Isles as they appeared in the late 1930s.
With its warmth and humour, this pictorial map makes a lovely housewarming gift, a nostalgic retirement present, a christening or new-baby keepsake, or a Christmas gift for anyone who loves Great Britain and Ireland. It also works well as a corporate gift for a UK-based business welcoming international clients, or as an anniversary present for a couple with ties to more than one of the five nations depicted. The fine hand-drawn illustrations and lettering from Chase's original 1939 artwork have been carefully restored, keeping every whimsical vignette sharp and full of character.
