Johnson's Palestine by Johnson and Ward. Damascus, Jerusalem. c1864

by Johnson and Ward

Palestine antique map. Damascus, and Jerusalem (10 Buildings).

Finely engraved colour-printed antique map of Palestine by Johnson and Ward c1863, with contemporary outlining of the regions with pink pen, and scripture, classical and modern place names. This fine map has a vignette of camels and riders, with the Barada River and City of Damascus beyond; and an Inset at lower right of Jerusalem and 10 Principal Buildings - all enclosed within an intricately engraved geometric border.

Joseph Hutchins Colton (1800-1893) established J.H. Colton and Company printing and publishing firm in 1830. George Woolworth Colton (1827-1901) and his brother George B. Colton (1832-1916) joined their father in the early 1850s and George began engraving elaborate borders for maps in 1855. Colton and company established a fine reputation as the pre-eminent mapmakers in America with accurate maps that were embellished by various finely-engraved decorative borders.

Alvin Jewitt Johnson (1827-1884) had a minimal education and then taught school for several years before becoming a door-to-door book salesman. He moving from Vermont to Richmond, Virginia, and in 1865 worked for J.H. Colton publishers, where he became a valued member of the company. In 1859 Johnson set up separately from Colton, and both published maps of a similar style. A.J. Johnson’s first significant work was Johnson’s New Illustrated (Steel Plate) Family Atlas in 1860. During the 1860s, when a supply of a map ran low, an updated version was issued rather than printing a superceded map, so decorative borders varied within a single issue of this atlas which makes it difficult to accurately date Johnson maps. With a series of partners, Johnson maps continued to be published until 1887.

This is a decorative map with wide borders, in good condition. Page: 520 x 445mm (20.5 x 17.5 inches). External size of engraved border: 425 x 343mm (16.75 x 13.5 inches)