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A finely detailed German polar chart of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, drawn by August Petermann and issued by the Justus Perthes firm as part of its influential Stieler’s Hand-Atlas. The map combines exploratory routes, prevailing currents, and known and hypothesized coastlines, with a striking central designation of the "Unforschtes Gebiet" (Unexplored Region). Tracks of major expeditions—including Cook, Biscoe, Ross, and Wilkes—are traced across the ocean.
Surrounding the main projection are inset maps of key sub-Antarctic island groups, including South Georgia, South Orkneys, Kerguelen, Crozet, Heard, Auckland, and Victoria Land, each at larger scales. Two hemispheric insets show comparative polar regions at 1:170,000,000.
Issued before the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration, the map captures the state of European knowledge in the late 19th century, when Antarctica remained largely a theoretical landmass. The careful plotting of sightings, ice edges, and conjectural coastlines reflects both the ambition and limits of scientific mapping in the period.
