Scotland with its islands

The title on this map reads, 'Scotland with its islands, drawn from Topographical Survey'. It was published by James Wyld in 1846 at a scale of 11 miles to an inch. The title of the map is carried in the bottom left corner whilst the Orkney and Shetland Isles are inset in the top right corner of the sheet. The boundaries of each county have been marked in different colours.

James Wyld was apprenticed to the map maker William Faden between 1804 and 1811. He worked as a draughtsman and a lithographer as well as a publisher. During his career he reissued some of Faden's maps as well as creating his own. His maps of Scotland were all losely based on Arrowsmith's landmark 1807 map. Only four years previous to this map, Wyld had issued two maps of Scotland, but these were contained in the Atlases - a very popular Victorian medium - and not published individually. Between 1750 and 1900 the outline of Scotland became steadily more accurate, based on both better surveying equipment and the increasing number of surveys available. The development of railways, roads and canals as well as the growth of towns and their administration can be traced by comparing these maps through time.

This period saw an increase in demand for thematic maps. Maps for the schoolroom, touring or excursion maps, transport, commercial, geological and statistical maps all made an appearance. All of these maps have now become a pictorial testament to both native and foreign perceptions of Scotland during this period.

[Shelfmark Marischal.111]