COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Onwhyn, Thomas
Date:
1854
Short Title:
Comic map of the seat of war with entirely new features.
Publisher:
Rock Brothers & Payne
Publisher Location:
London
Type:
Separate Map
Obj Height cm:
47
Obj Width cm:
67
World Area:
Europe
Subject:
Satirical
Full Title:
Comic map of the seat of war with entirely new features.
List No:
10618.000
Publication Author:
Onwhyn, Thomas
Pub Date:
1854
Pub Title:
Comic map of the seat of war with entirely new features.
Pub Note:
"Extremely rare first satirical map of Europe, drawn and lithographed in color by Thomas Onwhyn. It shows the political situation in Europe during the Crimean War which took place between 1853 and 1856, involving the Russian Empire against the alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, Great Britain and Sardinia. Caused by Russian expansionism as the Ottoman Empire was in decline, the Crimean War was fought mostly in Crimea around the naval base of Sevastopol, and ended with the defeat of Russia and the Treaty of Paris of 1856. The major players in the conflict are represented by an animal, a typical object or a caricature of the leader. The Russian bear is wearing an imperial crown labelled Despotism, and brandishes a cat-o-nine-tails whip knotted with skulls towards Asia, while keeping an eye on Europe. His body is covered with the words bigotry, cruelty, ignorance, treachery, falsehood, tyranny, slavery and oppression. His right foot is formed with the peninsula of Crimea, where the French and English fleets are gathered around Sevastopol, to clip the Bear's claws. The Bear is defied by the Balkans which appear in the form of a turkey wearing a fez, extinguishing the Greek candle with one claw, and with the other, pouring a bottle on Turkey, probably a bottle of port in reference to the Sublime Porte. To the east of the Black Sea, a note says "Russian forts destroyed by the Russians to save the allied fleets the trouble". The Caucasus mountains appear as cork-exploding volcanoes (Cork As Us Mountains), a reference to the perennial political unrest in this region. Bavaria is shown as a beer tankard, as the island of Malta, a reference to the malt used to make beer. Persia is a bearded man carrying a sword, with the note "Ultimatum from Russia". Austria is a double-headed eagle, looking both east and west, and wearing a shield broken in two and labelled Treaty Vienna. Prussia is playing cards, hesitating between the two parties, and saying "Either card makes my game". Poland is a mourning lady, her name being written with bones and skulls, while Hungary, still under the influence of Austria, is preparing her revenge. The French eagle is protecting his emperor, with a note beside him "Remember Moscow". The proud British lion, armed with a gun, keeps an eye on the allied fleet in the Baltic on its way to Cronstadt and Saint-Petersburg, and supported by Denmark and Sweden. Behind the British lion, Wales and Ireland, looking as a ragged peasant figure. Spain is shown as a woman hiding her face behind a fan, behind her the bulldog of Gibraltar. Rhineland appears as a bottle of eau de Cologne, while Italy, shown as a running dog wearing a papal tiara, is slowed by Sicily tied to his paw like a ball and chain. Sardinia turns her back on the conflict, she will join the battle in January 1855. Corsica is looking east and west at the same time, and the island of Elba is represented by the bicorn of emperor Napoleon. In North Africa, Tunisia is represented as a dog playing banjo, while the city of Algiers is called Alljeers, probably meaning that all the countries of North Africa jeer at the conflict. Main cities in European countries are all named. The Pyrenees, the mountains of Spain, part of the Alps, the the Carpathians and the Norwegian mounts are shown. Most rivers are unnamed and imaginary, but the Don forms one of the lashes of the Russian whip, and the Volga is traced. The scale of miles is made of a sword and a pair of scales, labelled "balance of power", with the Russian bear outweighed by the allied nations including the French cockerel, turkeys, and the British lion. In the title, the lettering "seat of war" is composed of soldiers of all the belligerent nations." (Begonia Le Bail, 2020)
Pub List No:
10618.000
Pub Type:
Separate Map
Image No:
10618000.jp2
Authors:
Onwhyn, Thomas
Link To Source
Comic map of the seat of war with entirely new features.
