An Antique Map of North West India & The Pamirs

George Phillip (1800 - 1882) was a cartographer and map publisher during the nineteenth century. Born in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, he founded his business in Liverpool, producing maps and educational books. His son, George II, joined the business in 1848 and they moved to London in 1856, trading under the name George Phillip & Son.

Originally producing maps from copper plates which were hand coloured (usually by women), they progressed to producing machine coloured maps on a power-driven lithographic press by the latter half of the nineteenth century. They published maps from various cartographers including J.Bartholomew.

The London Geographical Institute.

When this map was published:

Like dry rot in a house that goes unnoticed the countdown to the First World War had been ticking for decades. The unfinished business between France and Germany over Alsace Lorraine, the rivalry between European powers over the scramble for colonies in Africa and the spoils from a disintegrating Ottoman Empire slowly raised tensions. Trust between them was minimal and the risk of miscalculation great.

The Victorian age with all the improvements it brought to ordinary peoples lives was coming to an end. The Edwardian era with it’s misplaced optimism was about to begin. The USA was already the leading producer of coal and steel and was on it’s way to becoming the worlds leading economic and military power. Soon Russia would face revolution and the European powers be crippled by debt.

Little did the original owners of this map realise how dramatically different the world would look within 25 years.