1814 Tartary.

This superb large format map of Tartary, the land inhabited by Turkic and Mongol peoples, covers most of central Asia, and extends from the Caspian Sea to Japan and the Pacific Ocean in the east, and to southern India and part of SE Asia. The Russian Empire occupies a large portion of the map in the north. The map is engraved in the minimalist English style pioneered in the early part of the 19th century, a style which reduced maps’ decorative elements to a minimum. Relief is shown by hachure with towns, cities, and major topographical features identified. The map depicts much of the old Mongol Empire which was ruled by the sons of Kublai Khan and includes territories in the modern-day countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Portions of the ancient Silk Route are depicted along with fabled cities through which it wended and still wends its way. This map from Thomson’s New General Atlas is one of the finest and most informative maps of the region of its era. John Thomson (