SOUTH AUSTRALIA KANGAROO ISLAND 1851 TALLIS & RAPKIN UNUSUAL ANTIQUE ORIGINALMAP

Part of South Australia.

Description: Striking and highly detailed fine unusual steel engraved map of South Australia, Australia. Centered on the Spencer Gulf, it covers the southeastern part of the state of South Australia from Lake Torrens to Kangaroo Island and Bonny Wells. This map depicts the area during the early years of settlement in the only state to be settled by free settlers. The map includes beautiful illustration by H. Warren depicting Adelaide, natives of Catamaran, a Nymphicus, and an Australian dog. The seal of South Australia is also illustrated. Mining districts are depicted with red dots throughout. The map also notes the routes of the English explorer Edward John Eyre in 1840. The whole has the highly decorative presentation and elaborate border distinctive of Tallis maps. This map was issued as part of the 1851 edition of John Tallis and Company's The Illustrated Atlas, And Modern History of the World.
 
The map was specifically engraved for R. Montgomery Martin's Illustrated Atlas, a testament to Tallis's contributions to this important cartographic collection. As one of the last practitioners of elaborate decorative map-making, Tallis's works are cherished for their vibrant vignettes, capturing indigenous scenes, local peoples, and distinctive items. This 1851 map of South Australia embodies his signature style, presenting an engaging fusion of geographical detail and artistic expression.

Date: 1851 ( undated )

Dimension: Paper size approx.: cm 27,3 x 35,3

Condition: Very strong and dark impression on good paper. Map old original colored. Small foxing and browning. Map folded. Conditions are as you can see in the images.

Mapmaker: John Tallis (November 7, 1817 - June 3, 1876) was an English map publisher and bookseller. Born in Stourbridge in Worcestershire, worked in his father's Birmingham agency from 1836 until 1842. Roughly in 1838, Tallis published a collection of London Street Views, and entered into a partnership with his brother Frederick Tallis from 1842 - 1849. Tallis and Company also published the Illustrated Atlas of the World in 1849. Also in 1849, Tallis traveled to New York City where he founded publishing agencies in six American cities. Upon returning from New York, Tallis paid his brother £10,000 for his share of the business, and operated from then on as John Tallis and Company until 1854. By 1853, John Tallis and Company had agencies in twenty-six cities in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada and employed over 500 people. By the end of 1853, Tallis had made the decision to share the burden of running such an extensive company and formed the London Printing and Publishing Company on February 24, 1854, becoming co-managing director with Ephraim Tipton Brain. After a series of setbacks, however, Tallis had to sell his estate and by 1861 was declared bankrupt. He was kept afloat by the kindness of friends and former employees, but none of his 'various ambitious projects' ever worked out for the rest of his life. Tallis married Jane Ball on December 6, 1836 in Birmingham, with whom he lived until her death in 1862. Tallis remarried on June 27, 1863 to Mary Stephens, with whom he had two children.

John Tallis and Company published views, maps and Atlases in London from roughly 1838 to 1851. The principal works, expanding upon the earlier works of Cary and Arrowsmith, include an 1838 collection of London Street Views and the 1849 Illustrated Atlas of the World. His principle engraver was John Rapkin, whose name and decorative vignettes appear on most Tallis & Co. maps. Due to the decorative style of Rapkin's work, many regard Tallis maps as the last bastion of English decorative cartography in the 19th century. Though most Tallis maps were originally issued uncolored, it was not uncommon for 19th century libraries to commission colorists to "complete" the atlas. The London Printing and publishing Company of London and New York bought the rights for many Tallis maps in 1850 and continued Publishing his Illustrated Atlas of the World until the mid 1850s. Specific Tallis maps later appeared in innumerable mid to late 19th century publications as illustrations and appendices.
 
John Rapkin (July 18, 1813 - June 20, 1899) was an English mapmaker and engraver. Born in Southwark, Rapkin was the son of George Rapkin, a shoemaker, and his wife Elizabeth Harfy. Rapkin and his brother Richard both became engravers and his other brother, William Harfy Rapkin, became a copperplate printer. Rapkin produced works for James Wyld and John Tallis, including The United States and the relative position of Oregon and Texas for Wyld around 1845, and a series of eighty maps for Tallis that became 'Tallis's illustrated atlas, and modern history of the world' in 1851. Rapkin married Frances Wilmot Rudell on January 4, 1837, with whom he had at least eight children, some of whom became engravers, including his sons John Benjamin Rapkin (1837 - 1914), Alfred Thomas Rapkin (1841 - 1905), Joseph Clarke Rapkin (1846? - 1912), and Frederick William Rapkin (1859 - 1945). Rapkin operated under the imprint 'John Rapkin and Sons from 1867 until 1883, and was operating as 'John Rapkin and Sons' by 1887. Rapkin died in 1899 at the age of 85 soon after the death of his wife of over sixty years.