A map of European trade in China in the 1850s

An uncommon map, only published in the later SDUK atlases, during an intense period of both trade and conflict. Britain controlled Canton from 1857-61 and, as the Viceroy's house is marked, it would follow that the map was published during this period. The inset map of Hong Kong is based on Captain Edward Belcher's map of 1842, which was the first survey of the island. The Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge was founded in 1826 to publish educational material for 'all classes of the community', including this series of maps. 209 maps were published before the Society was disbanded in 1846. Until 1842 the maps were published by Chapman and Hall under the supervision of the Society; in 1852 the plates were sold to George Cox, then to Edward Stanford in 1856, to Thomas Letts in 1877 and, finally, to Mason & Payne in 1885.