'Port of Tai-wan-foo. // Port of Takao.'
Two antique woodblock-printed harbour plans on one original sheet, 1867
Two harbour plans on one sheet compare Taiwan-fu (Tainan) and Takao (Kaohsiung) as foreign trade began. The upper maps Anping, Fort Zeelandia, sandbanks and the inland city; the lower identifies Ape’s Hill, Saracen’s Head and Island, the village and a mineral spring around Takao’s lagoon. Silting forced Taiwan-fu’s shipping to anchor three miles offshore, with cargo crossing dangerous surf and Fort Zeelandia serving as a sea-mark. Takao offered a sheltered lagoon, although its entrance bar constrained shipping. Both ports arose from the 1858 treaty settlement; Dennys dates Takao’s opening to 1864. Despite having only a few European houses and stores, it recorded 153 foreign-vessel entries totalling 27,648 tons in 1865. Sugar, turmeric, sesame and rice were exported; cotton goods, woollens and opium imported. Drawing on Robert Swinhoe’s reports, Dennys’s 1867 maps predate modern reclamation around Tainan and the former Taijiang lagoon and Kaohsiung’s development into a major engineered harbour. Exceptionally scarce: our research located no other separate dealer or auction record for this map.
CAPTION BELOW PICTURE: 'Port of Tai-wan-foo. // Port of Takao.'
DATE PRINTED: 1867
IMAGE SIZE: Approx 19.5 x 16.0cm, 7.75 x 6.25 inches (Medium); Please note that this is a folding map.
ARTIST/CARTOGRAPHER/ENGRAVER: William Frederick Mayers (1831–1878), Nicholas Belfield Dennys (1839–1900) and Charles King; compiled and edited by Nicholas Belfield Dennys; individual mapmaker not identified, but the source publication notes that "the maps have all been engraved by natives"
PROVENANCE: William Frederick Mayers, Nicholas Belfield Dennys and Charles King, The Treaty Ports of China and Japan: A Complete Guide to the Open Ports of Those Countries, Together with Peking, Yedo, Hongkong and Macao. Compiled and edited by N. B. Dennys. London: Trübner and Co.; Hong Kong: A. Shortrede and Co., 1867. First edition.
TYPE: Two antique woodblock-printed harbour plans on one original sheet
VERSO: There is nothing printed on the reverse side, which is plain
CONDITION: Good; suitable for framing. The paper is brittle and requires careful handling. Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. Please contact us if you would like to arrange to view this map. Virtually all antiquarian maps and prints are subject to some normal aging due to use and time which is not obtrusive unless otherwise stated. I offer a no questions asked return policy - see below.
AUTHENTICITY: This is an authentic historic print, published at the date stated above. I do not offer reproductions. It is not a modern copy. The term 'original' when applied to a print means that it was printed at the first or original date of publication; it does not imply that the item is unique. 'Print' means any image created by applying an inked block to paper or card under pressure by any method including wood engraving, steel engraving, copperplate, wood cut and lithography.
REMARKS: FRANCE: Gravures et Cartes anciennes. DEUTSCHLAND: Alte Lankarten und Stadt ansichten. ITALIA: Stampe e Mappe antiche. ESPAÑA: Mapas antiquos y impresiones antiguas. E and OE. Force Majeure. English law shall apply.
RETURNS POLICY: I offer a no questions returns policy. All I ask is that you pay return shipping and mail back to me in original condition, suitably packed & insured, within 14 days of receipt.