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This series of over 100 maps, drawn up by Alexander Keith Johnston, Geographer at Edinburgh in Ordinary to Queen Victoria, to accompany Sir Archibald
Alison’s monumental History of Europe (published 1850), and printed by William
Blackwood and Sons of Edinburgh, covers every major military engagement from the
period of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, from Jemappes to Waterloo, and includes in addition several excellent national maps and town plans. The maps, the originals of which are not easily or cheaply obtained today, are of the very
highest quality; we quote from the introduction to the atlas: This ATLAS, intended to illustrate the most important period of
modern history, consists of a series of PLANS of SIEGES and BATTLES, pointing
out every circumstance of locality, affecting the operations detailed, and MAPS
of extensive portions of country, exhibiting at one view the whole range of a
campaign, with the relative positions and political boundaries of Empires and
States. In its construction, the valuable materials employed in the composition
of the History have been made use of, and, through the kindness of the late lamented
Lieutenant-General Sir John Macdonald, access was freely obtained to the Surveys
and Plans deposited in the Quarter-Master-General’s department of the Horse
Guards. For the manner of its execution, the Author has much pleasure in referring
to the following extract of a letter from Mr. ALISON:
‘It is a source of great satisfaction to me that your
Maps and Military Plans are not only superior to anything of the kind that has
yet been published in Great Britain, but more perfect than anything on a similar
scale that has yet appeared on the Continent. I have repeatedly heard this opinion
expressed by the very highest military authorities, on whose judgment I can place
more reliance than on my own in such matters. I cannot conclude without congratulating
you on the successful termination of your arduous labours, and myself on the acquisition
to my historical narrative of so very valuable a work, without the study of which
the military operations cannot be properly understood.’
150 years after these words were written, we can do nothing but
echo Sir Archibald’s praise. These maps deserve the attention of every keen
student of the military history of the Napoleonic period. Johnston’s atlas
is a quite outstanding example of the steel-engraver’s art, and the detail
and clarity of its maps far surpasses being improved upon even todayit is hard
to imagine. Their original size is just 8" by 6" (230x152mm), yet they
include even tiny details such as gardens; our reproductions, printed on A3 3uper
paper (13" x 19" /329mm x 483mm), are enlarged by 100%, allowing this
to be more fully appreciated.
All maps are priced at £6.00, plus p&p: where battles are
covered by two maps (e.g., Marengo, Waterloo), the price for the two maps ordered
as a pair is £9.00.
In addition, we are offering sets of campaign maps (e.g., The Peninsula, Russia 1812) at special discount rates, and can also supply custom sets to order.
Mail us at info@village-atlas.com
for further information on these and academic orders.
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