Details

This appealing copperplate engraving of the East Indies or Indonesian archipelago was first made by French royal geographer Adrien Hubert Brué in 1826. He issued a revised edition of the map in 1834, which then became Plate 48 in the enlarged version of Brué’s Atlas universel de géographie, published by Charles Piquet in 1840.

Once published, the map quickly became one of France’s best cartographic references for a politically and geographically complicated region that spanned from New Guinea to Burma. This scope is seen in the map, which also includes surrounding areas, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and the northern coasts of Australia. The map provides an honest, albeit sparse, treatment of island interiors, where European understanding and presence were limited. It delineates the colonial affiliations of each island within this vast archipelago, which at the time was no simple matter.

The vibrant map captures this region’s physiography, toponymy, and political configuration in vivid detail. In addition to its enlarged size, one of the features enhancing the map’s aesthetic appeal is the original outline color that was applied by hand. Throughout the map, annotations reference everything from geographic features to native villages. At the same time, the highly variegated topography of these volcanic islands is shown through careful hachuring.

Also embedded in the map are the region’s recent political developments. The distinctive outline coloring was explicitly applied to delineate regional political affiliations. These are further explained in the legend in the lower left corner and include important colonial players such as the Dutch, the Portuguese, the Spanish, and the Sultanate of Sulu, as well as various indigenous rulers. We also find extensive notes providing information on Brué’s sources in its compilation.

Printed on heavy paper with wide margins, the map is one of the best and most aesthetically pleasing cartographic renditions of the Indonesian Archipelago of its day. It captures a distant but essential part of the world, just as Queen Victoria was about to ascend the British throne. She would inaugurate an entirely new era of exploration and cartography.

The map is conceptually linked to another vital map from Brué’s 1840 atlas, namely his double-age chart of Oceania.

Census

The map was published in the second and enlarged edition of Brué’s Atlas universel de géographie physique, politique, ancienne et moderne, published in Paris in 1840. This edition of the atlas included 68 engraved maps, of which 67 were double-page sheets. His maps were drawn directly onto the copper printing plates, and most of the sheets were subsequently hand-colored in outline. The atlas covered contemporary and historical geography, including maps of Alexander the Great’s Empire or the Route of Exodus. It was published multiple times and in different versions between 1820 and 1875, with the first enlarged version issued in 1840. It is from this enlarged edition that our map derives.

The OCLC notes several holdings of the original 1826 state (893943738) and the revised 1834 state (495077633). We have not identified any listings of the enlarged 1840 edition of the 1834 state, which is the example offered here.