India

Circa late 19th to early 20th century

Colour lithograph on paper (each)

a) Print size: 15.94 x 12.20 in (40.5 x 31 cm)
Sheet size: 18.31 x 13.39 in (46.5 x 34 cm)

b) Print size: 16.14 x 11.02 in (41 x 28 cm)
Sheet size: 21.26 x 13.58 in (54 x 34.5 cm)
folded: 10.63 x 13.58 in (27 x 34.5 cm)

c) Print size: 13.98 x 10.63 in (35.5 x 27 cm)
Sheet size: 14.57 x 11.42 in (37 x 29 cm)

An American Publisher’s Vision of Imperial India—Three Colour Administrative Maps by Geo. F Cram

Each map shows India with provincial boundaries in colour, extensive place-name density, railway networks, and administrative divisions. One example incorporates a substantial index margin, while others present a more compact cartographic field.

This comparative group of three maps by Geo. F. Cram occupies a critical position in the visual history of India’s cartographic representation, bridging the gap between late-eighteenth-century conquest mapping and twentieth-century institutional survey cartography. Produced for educational and reference use, Cram’s maps translate imperial geography into a stable, legible administrative system, suited to classrooms, offices, and libraries rather than the battlefield or the survey camp.

Unlike the territorial urgency of Wilkinson’s Mysore-era maps, Cram’s India is presented as a settled political entity: provinces and princely states are clearly differentiated through colour, railway networks articulate control and connectivity, and dense toponymy reinforces bureaucratic comprehensiveness. Subtle differences between the three states—most notably in format, marginal indexing, and spatial emphasis—reflect ongoing revision as administrative boundaries, infrastructure, and pedagogical priorities evolved.

George Franklin Cram (1842–1928) was a prominent 19th-century American Civil War veteran, map publisher, and founder of The George F. Cram Company. He was a pioneer in map production, becoming the first to produce a world atlas in 1869 and a leader in using cost-effective "cerography" (wax engraving) techniques.

Seen together, these three examples allow direct comparison of how a single publisher repeatedly recalibrated India as an object of governance, instruction, and imperial knowledge. Preserved as a group, they offer a concise visual counterpart to the Survey of India’s authoritative mapping and anticipate the global synthesis embodied by National Geographic’s post-war cartography.

(Set of three)

NON-EXPORTABLE

This lot is offered at RESERVE

This lot will be shipped in "as is" condition. For further details, please refer to the images of individual lots as reference for the condition of each lot.