The original title, West Africa, announces Edward Stanford’s authoritative survey of the region at the turn of the twentieth century. Issued in 1904, this consummate plate unites political and physical cartography in vivid full-color lithography, guiding the eye from the Atlantic littoral and Gulf of Guinea deep into the Sahel and the southern fringes of the Sahara. Relief is modelled with refined hachures and punctuated by spot heights, so that river basins, escarpments, and undulating plateaux appear almost tactile. A clear legend distinguishes British possessions from neighboring spheres, while carefully drawn coastlines, rivers, and boundaries give immediate legibility to a landscape undergoing rapid historical change.

Stanford’s map stands in the great London tradition he helped define, a direct descendant of John Arrowsmith’s celebrated London Atlas of 1858. First issued in 1887 and successively revised in 1893, 1896, 1898, and 1901, the work culminated in this considered third edition of 1904, each state responding to shifting frontiers and new geographic intelligence. The result is an atlas plate that registers the diplomatic tempo of the era—boundary commissions, protectorates declared, spheres of influence negotiated—without sacrificing geographic clarity. Stanford’s editorial discipline ensured that fresh railheads, administrative districts, and river courses entered the record with precision, preserving an exacting continuity of quality across decades of imperial reconfiguration.

The sheet’s visual language is as elegant as it is informative. Full color is deployed with restraint to differentiate territories and physiographic zones, while delicate hachures articulate the transitions from coastal plains to interior highlands and the sandy undulations edging the desert. Major waterways—the Niger and its great bend, the Senegal, the Gambia, the Volta—thread the composition in confident strokes, their tributaries feeding marshes and deltas crisply engraved. Spot heights add quantitative nuance to the mountainous interiors and upland plateaux, enriching the reader’s sense of relief. The overall layout is methodical and lucid, allowing the eye to parse complex boundaries and topography without ever losing the sweep of the region.

Equally compelling is the human geography Stanford arrays across the surface. Towns and cities are meticulously located to reveal settlement patterns along coasts, rivers, and interior routes, with roads and newly driven railways tracing the commercial corridors of the age. Lines of submarine cable, so emblematic of fin-de-siècle connectivity, leap from port to port, linking West African harbors to the wider Atlantic network. From administrative centers on the Gulf of Guinea to inland river ports, the map records the infrastructure by which commodities, people, and ideas moved—evidence of the economic transformations that defined the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the emergence of an integrated regional system.

For scholars and connoisseurs alike, this 1904 state is a time capsule of West Africa in flux, its political entities foreshadowing the boundaries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, and Niger, and its northern margins brushing the Sahara. It became a standard reference, with later editions continuing through 1931—correcting the oft-repeated but erroneous terminal date of 1928—so the plate also speaks to the longevity of Stanford’s enterprise. As an object of study and of beauty, it distills a period when maps informed policy and imagination in equal measure, offering a rigorous, elegantly rendered frame through which to read a continent’s western rim.

Countries and regions on this map

• Countries/Regions Shown: The boundaries of present-day West African countries are delineated.
• West African Countries: Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
• Regions: Northern parts intersecting with the Sahara, Gulf of Guinea to the south.
• Continents: Africa (Regionally focused on West Africa).
• Bodies of Water: Atlantic Ocean to the west.
• Mountain ranges: General topography indicated, but detailed ranges may not be explicitly named.
• Infrastructure: Roads, railroads, and potential annotations about historical significance or colonial interests.

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Countries and Territories Labeled: Various political entities and their boundaries.
• Topography: Features hachures indicating elevation changes and major landforms.
• Transportation Routes: Roads and rail lines are depicted, indicating the infrastructure of the region.
• Strategic Locations: Towns and cities marked for reference, showing human settlement patterns.
• Bodies of Water: Major rivers and coastal outlines.
• Legend: Includes a legend explaining color coding for British possessions and other territories.

Historical and design context

• Created by Edward Stanford in 1904.
• Detailed political and physical representation of West Africa at the turn of the 20th century.
• Successor to John Arrowsmith's London Atlas of 1858, showcasing continuity in quality.
• First issued in 1887, with updates in 1893, 1896, 1898, and 1901, culminating in a third edition in 1904.
• Last edition published in 1931; incorrect attribution to 1928 corrected.
• Relief shown using hachures and spot heights for vivid terrain representation.
• Highlights settlement patterns, including towns, roads, railroads, and submarine cables.
• Full-color lithography, intricate detail, hachured techniques for depicting elevation.
• The overall layout is methodical, allowing easy navigation of geographic features and political boundaries.
• Serves as an important reference for historians and geographers, capturing the dynamic changes in West Africa's landscape and political situation during a time of colonial expansion.
• Mapmaker: Edward Stanford, a significant figure in cartography known for quality maps and atlases.
• Themes and Topics: Geography of West Africa; Economic and infrastructural developments during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Please 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.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 70in (180cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

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.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

For most orders, delivery time is about 3 working days. Personalised and customised products take longer, as I have to do the personalisation and send it to you for approval, which usually takes 1 or 2 days.

Please note that very large framed orders usually take longer to make and deliver. 

If you need your order to arrive by a certain date, please contact me before you order so that we can find the best way of making sure you get your order in time.

I print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world. This means your order will be made locally, which cuts down on delivery time and ensures that it won't be damaged during delivery. You'll never pay customs or import duty, and we'll put less CO2 into the air.

All of my maps and art prints are well packaged and sent in a rugged tube if unframed, or surrounded by foam if framed.

I try to send out all orders within 1 or 2 days of receiving your order, though some products (like face masks, mugs and tote bags) can take longer to make.

If you select Express Delivery at checkout your order we will prioritise your order and send it out by 1-day courier (Fedex, DHL, UPS, Parcelforce).

Next Day delivery is also available in some countries (US, UK, Singapore, UAE) but please try to order early in the day so that we can get it sent out on time.

Read my full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.