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This geological map of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, created by James Wyld, Geographer to Her Majesty, offers a precise breakdown of the British Isles’ diverse geological formations, as understood in the middle of the 19th century. Each color-coded section corresponds to distinct rock types, from the “Freshwater Beds” to “London Clay,” clearly delineating the strata across England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales.
The reference section lists each formation's composition, detailing materials like “Shingle, Sand and Shells” in the “Crag” layer and “Upper Cretaceous White Chalk Marl” for “Upper Chalk,” reflecting the 19th-century drive to classify geological diversity. Wyld’s detailed descriptions reveal a deep understanding of the earth's structures, indicative of the growing geological rigor of the period.
Railroad lines are marked across regions, illustrating the Industrial Revolution’s influence and the intersection of geology with infrastructure planning. A small inset of the Shetland Islands ensures comprehensive coverage of the UK’s geological terrain. Wyld’s map integrates geological knowledge with practical considerations, capturing an era when scientific and industrial interests were increasingly interconnected.
A population table with numbers for 1811, 1821, 1831, but not yet up to 1841, might suggest a date of around 1840 for this map.
James Wyld Sr. (1790-1836) was a British cartographer and one of Europe’s leading mapmakers. He made many contributions to cartography, including the introduction of lithography into map printing in 1812.
William Faden, another celebrated cartographer, passed down his mapmaking business to Wyld in 1823. The quality and quantity of Faden’s maps, combined with Wyld’s considerable skill, brought Wyld great prestige.
Wyld was named geographer to Kings George IV and William IV, as well as HRH the Duke of York. In 1825, he was elected an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers. He was one of the founding members of the Royal Geographical Society in 1830. Also in 1830, his son, James Wyld Jr., took over his publishing house. Wyld Sr. died of overwork on October 14, 1836.
James Wyld Jr. (1812-87) was a renowned cartographer in his own right and he successfully carried on his father’s business. He gained the title of Geographer to the Queen and H.R.H. Prince Albert. Punch (1850) described him in humorous cartographic terms, “If Mr. Wyld’s brain should be ever discovered (we will be bound he has a Map of it inside his hat), we should like to have a peep at it, for we have a suspicion that the two hemispheres must be printed, varnished, and glazed, exactly like a pair of globes.”
![[Hungarian Map of Great Britain] Nagy Britannia](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/85219.jpg)