{"product_id":"old-pictorial-map-of-belgian-congo-by-laboulais-1949-congo-river-leopoldville-katanga-mines-matadi-boma-railways","title":"Large Map of Belgian Congo by Laboulais, 1949: Congo River; Leopoldville; Katanga mines; Matadi \u0026 Boma; Railways","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrans Laboulais’s Congo Belge (1949) is a vivid pictorial portrait of Central Africa at mid-century, rendered in the saturated palette and theatrical genre scenes that defined the era’s finest thematic maps. Across the expanse of the Belgian Congo, the Congo River unfurls as a commanding axis, while borders with Angola and French Equatorial Africa set the regional frame. An ornate cartouche anchors the composition, but it is the choreography of images—work, travel, ritual, and trade—that gives this map its narrative pulse. Laboulais invites the viewer to read geography as story: a landscape where rivers function as highways, settlements as outposts of exchange, and local lifeways share the stage with the visible imprint of European enterprise.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCities and transport nodes are treated as protagonists. Léopoldville (Kinshasa) confronts the river at its most monumental, flanked downstream by the port towns of Matadi and Boma, while Stanleyville (Kisangani), Coquilhatville (Mbandaka), and Costermansville (Bukavu) signal the reach of inland commerce and administration. In the copper-rich south, Lubumbashi—still widely labeled Elisabethville in the period—anchors Katanga’s industrial identity. Rail icons trace a lattice of connectivity, binding ports to interior hubs and mining districts; by contrast, roads and airways remain only lightly sketched, emphasizing the primacy of rail and river. Tributaries such as the Uele River punctuate the hydrological web, reminding the viewer that, in this landscape, water and metal together shaped movement and power.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEconomic storytelling is everywhere. Clusters of mine symbols and commodity vignettes reveal where the earth was most insistently asked to yield its treasures, with Katanga’s belt and the broader Kasai region—home to centers such as Mbuji-Mayi and Kananga—standing out. Agricultural emblems line fertile valleys, aligning plantation imagery with river corridors. A distinctive advertising panel for Compagnie Maritime Belge, S.A. of Antwerp underscores the transoceanic circuitry that carried goods and people between colony and metropole, and different versions of the map were known to feature alternate advertisers—an eloquent reminder that mid-century cartography often doubled as commercial theater. The message is unmistakable: extraction, cultivation, and shipping formed a single, carefully choreographed system.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLaboulais’s artistry tempers this logistical clarity with lyrical depictions of culture and nature. Pictorial vignettes present local communities at work and at market, set among palm groves and fields, while endemic fauna—evoked through playful images of great apes, okapi, antelopes, and forest birds—animate the forests and savannas. Mountain ranges rise in sculptural relief, guarding the highlands of the east, while boats and canoes skim the river scenes. The color scale is generous yet controlled, guiding the eye from settlement to resource to landscape without sacrificing legibility. In its details the map preserves ethnographic gestures of the era; in its overall harmony it offers a richly staged panorama of place.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorically, Congo Belge captures a precise postwar moment: 1949, on the cusp of profound political and social transformation that would culminate in independence a decade later. The map records colonial geographies and toponyms—Elisabethville\/Lubumbashi, Stanleyville\/Kisangani, Coquilhatville\/Mbandaka, Costermansville\/Bukavu—before their later renamings, creating an invaluable index for scholars and collectors. It reveals how riverine navigation, rail infrastructure, and resource districts underwrote administrative reach and urban growth, especially in Léopoldville’s ascendance. As a document of its time, it reflects both the ambitions and the asymmetries of colonial modernity; as an artwork, it distills a vast, complex territory into a single, legible tableau that is as instructive as it is visually entrancing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlaces on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLéopoldville (Kinshasa)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStanleyville (Kisangani)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLubumbashi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCostermansville (now Bukavu)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLulonga\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLusambo\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCoquilhatville (now Mbandaka)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBoma\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMatadi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKikwit\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKananga\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMbuji-Mayi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKolwezi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBunia\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUele River\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMajor cities: Léopoldville (Kinshasa); Stanleyville (now Kisangani); Lubumbashi\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGeographical features: major rivers such as the Congo River; mountain ranges shown artistically\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTransportation routes: railroads marked with icons indicating connectivity; no detailed airways or roads visible\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCultural depictions: pictorial representations of local people, agriculture, flora and fauna\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCommerce references: advertisements depicted in visual form\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUnique flora and fauna: illustrations of endemic animals and plants\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTitle and maker: Congo Belge by Frans Laboulais\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYear: 1949 (late colonial period snapshot)\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDesign style: vibrant colors, artistic genre scenes, and an ornate cartouche typical of mid-20th-century thematic maps\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThematic emphasis: cities and towns; agricultural products; mines and minerals; transportation networks; rivers and waterways\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGeographic frame: focused on the Belgian Congo with borders marked for surrounding regions, including Angola and French Equatorial Africa\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAdvertising: includes a panel for Compagnie Maritime Belge, S.A. of Antwerp; other versions feature different advertisers\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical significance: portrays indigenous practices and products alongside colonial enterprise during the Belgian Congo era\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a very large map that must be ordered at a large size, so that you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 100in (250cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/it\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/it\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"16x20in (40x50cm) \/ Map","offer_id":57969114710400,"sku":"UM00274942A","price":66.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20in (40x50cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57969114743168,"sku":"UM00274943A","price":148.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"16x20in (40x50cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":57969114775936,"sku":"UM00274944A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x24in (45x60cm) \/ Map","offer_id":57969114808704,"sku":"UM00274945A","price":77.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x24in (45x60cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":57969114841472,"sku":"UM00274946A","price":169.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"18x24in (45x60cm) \/ Framed canvas 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