Balloon View of London, 1851

£14.95 BUY

In Stock

  • Publisher: Harry Margary
  • Catalogue: 15677
  • Scale: N/A
  • Size: 101x66cm
One of several maps and panoramas of London to come out in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition. This is an aerial panorama, naming streets and showing many individual buildings. The view is looking southwards and therefore appears "upside-down" compared to most maps. The enormous glass building built in Hyde Park for the Great Exhibition is shown - Cockneys dubbed it the "Crystal Palace" and it's even named as such on the panorama.

The map is an exhilarating view of London looking south over the River Thames, as if taken from a balloon over Hampstead. This plan/view's extent (St John's Wood - Battersea Park - De Beauvoir Town - Greenwich) and large size makes for a superbly detailed image with innumerable streets, buildings and landmarks identifiable. First published on the opening day of the Great Exhibition, the plan proved immensely popular with reissues appearing into the late 1870s. This is an early Stanford edition with the aquatint detail fresh and distinct, and presents a wonderful picture of London prior to the great Victorian expansion.