Carte historique de la Pologne.

Original antique engraved historical map of Poland, issued in 1842,Paris for Malte-Brun. Engraved by Thierry, with hand-colored boundaries.

An informative map tracing the territorial changes of Poland and the former Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth through the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Coverage extends from the Baltic coast and the region around Riga southward to Galicia and Podolia, encompassing extensive areas now within Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine, together with neighboring territories.

The map’s principal feature is its overlapping system of colored boundaries. A long explanatory key beneath the lower border distinguishes Poland before the First Partition from its subsequent territorial configurations, including changes during the Napoleonic period and the settlement of 1815. Rather than presenting a single political moment, the sheet allows several stages of Poland’s changing geography to be compared within one engraved image.

Warsaw, Kraków, Vilna, Grodno, Minsk, Lemberg, and numerous smaller towns appear among a dense network of rivers and regional names. Lithuania, Volhynia, Podolia, and Galicia occupy prominent places in the composition, illustrating how far the historical geography of Poland extended beyond the borders of the modern country. Prussia, Russia, and the Austrian territories provide the surrounding political context.

The title at lower left is engraved in a mixture of shaded capitals and flowing script, enclosed by ornamental calligraphic flourishes. Two distance scales at upper left give leagues of twenty-five to a degree and German miles. Fine mountain hachures, detailed river systems, latitude-and-longitude markings, and a multiple-rule border complete the sheet. The upper margin reads “Géographie moderne,” with plate number 56 at right; Thierry’s engraving credit appears below the lower-left border.

The partitions of 1772, 1793, and 1795 divided the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Russia, Prussia, and Austria, ultimately ending its existence as an independent state. The colored lines preserve the relationship between its former extent and the territories absorbed by its neighbors. This makes the map particularly useful for understanding historical places whose political affiliations changed repeatedly.

Napoleon’s creation of the Duchy of Warsaw in 1807, its enlargement in 1809, and the Congress of Vienna settlement in 1815 brought further changes. By the time this sheet was issued in 1842, the failed Polish uprising of 1830–31 and its aftermath had renewed European interest in Poland’s political position. A historical map of this kind helped readers connect contemporary events with the successive divisions of the former Commonwealth.

An appealing nineteenth-century historical map for collectors interested in Poland, Lithuania, Eastern Europe, and the cartography of changing borders.

Condition: Light age toning, scattered minor spotting, and modest marginal handling and creasing. Wide margins surround the engraved border, and the map detail and colored boundaries remain clearly visible. Please examine the photograph for condition details.

Original antique map, not a modern reproduction.

Sheet measures c. 15” W x 11 3/8“ H

engraved area c. 11 1/2”W x 8 1/2” H.

R36877