Originally published in 1843, this is the first ever printed map of Hong Kong. This large format sea chart, put together by Edward Belcher for the British Admiralty (the government department in charge of the navy), is exceptionally rare - and really rather wonderful to look at.
Being a sea chart, the focus of this map is definitely not Victoria Harbour or Kowloon City. In 1843 you can see that just a handful of buildings exist on Hong Kong Island, and even fewer over the water in Kowloon. Most of the labelled buildings are governmental - jails, court houses, barracks, hospitals, etc.
From the name in the top right corner, you can also see that - for a long time - the name of this island was Hongkong without a space. It only became known as Hong Kong later in the 1900s.
This map looks great at all sizes: 18x24 inches (45.5x61cm) and 24x36 inches (61x91.5cm), but it looks even better when printed large.
I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 160 inches (406cm) wide. Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.
The model in the listing images is holding the 36x24 inch (91.5x61cm) version of this map.
Many of the towns, villages and landmarks of Hong Kong are already visible in this map, though you might notice that some are spelled slightly different back then.
The locations on this map include: Hong Kong, Lamma Island, Lantau Island, Tung Lung Chau, Beaufort Island, Victoria Peak, Stanley, Sai Wan (Saywan), Tai Tam Bay (Tytam Bay)
If you’re looking for something slightly different, another option would be this amazing map of Hong Kong by Sung Chun Wa in 1924.
This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for someone from Hong Kong or has a keen interest with the island of Hong Kong.
This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.