Rare separately published map of Zulu Land and the Transvaal, published in London by Wyld.
The map is overprinted with Red noting the Position of the British Advancing Columns. The present map was specifically made for use by British Military Staff, as noted by the title at the top.
This example bears the names of two British soldiers:
- Captain Robert Frederick Willoughby: Willoughby served with the 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1879. He served at Fort Napier, Pietermaritzburg, where he commanded two depot companies, before re-joining the main battalion in August, 1879. He was at the storming of the stronghold of Sekhukhune in late 1879, where he was slightly wounded.
- Captain D. ??? 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers
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.”