JAMES WYLD'S ORIGINAL 1851 MAP OF LONDON AND VISITORS GUIDE TO THE GREAT EXHIBITION
Original large engraved folding map/plan of London, dissected into 40 sections and folding between the original grey-blue cloth covers with blind stamped titles and decoration. Published 1851, by James Wyld, Charing Cross East, London. Size: 22 x 37.5 Inches. Condition: VERY GOOD. Light tonging to some sections, a few small splits to folds and margins, one fold with an old taped repair, contemporary ownership inscription dated 1851 to verso, generally a most attractive folding plan of London. Scarce.
Notes: A decorative 1851 first edition plan or map of London, England by James Wyld. It was published to be of use to visitors to London's 1851 Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Crystal Palace Exhibition. The map covers central London from Islington to North Brixton and from the East India Docks to Holland Park. Roads, parks, rail lines, important buildings, and neighborhoods are noted. To the left and right of center, the English language title is repeated in French and German, respectively. Appropriately, the Crystal Palace appears prominently along the southern border of Hyde Park. This map is notable for its decorative border, with floral corner flourishes and illustrations of London landmarks, including, among others, Buckingham Palace, the British Museum, the Bank of England, London Bridge, and the Houses of Parliament. Wyld's Globe Among the border vignettes, in a place of prominence just to the right of the title, can be found a self-promotional view entitled, 'Mr. Wyld's Model of the Earth in Leicester Square.' This is Wyld's Great Globe, an attraction built in 1851, the year this map was issued, in Leicester Square, which was then a private pleasure garden. The map was printed in 40 sections that were clearly designed to be dissected and mounted on linen, which apparently never occurred with this example. The present example is the first edition, first state. 15 additional editions followed with numerous updates and revisions to about 1877. References: OCLC 83110220. Hyde, Ralph, Printed Maps of Victorian London.
