Historic Map : Cruchley Map of Scotland, 1850, Vintage Wall Art

An attractive map of Scotland by George Frederick Cruchley dated to 1850. It covers Scotland from the Orkney Islands to Wigton in the south, including the Hebrides or Western Isles. The Shetland and Orkney Islands are detailed in an inset in the lower left quadrant of the map.

This map was issued in the midst of Scotland's Industrial Revolution, in which it emerged as a regional center for engineering and shipbuilding. In 1843, against the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution, during which Scotland flourished, the Church of Scotland witnessed a division in which many of its ministers, following a decade long conflict, broke away to form the Free Church of Scotland. Cruchles has color coded the map according to provinces and identifies important towns, cities, rivers, mountains and an assortment of other topographical features. Relief is shown by hachure.

Cruchley's General Atlas was unique for its period, employing a vivid color scheme extending even to the oceans, distinctive typography, and various uncommon decorative elements including a peacock feather crown and an imprint medallion, both of which break the printed border.  Though many of the maps in this atlas are copyrighted in 1841, the atlas was first published in 1843 from the Cruchley office at 81 Fleet Street, London, and proving popular went through numerous reissues well into the 1850s.