James Wellsted: Map of Oman
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Cartographer:
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James Wellsted
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Title:
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Map of Oman
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Date:
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1838
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Published:
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London
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Width:
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16 inches / 41 cm
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Height:
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16 inches / 41 cm
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Map ref:
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MEAST4343
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Description:
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James Raymond Wellsted was an officer in the Indian Navy and already a veteran of the most thorough survey of the Red Sea under Captain Robert Moresby before he undertook the first modern European survey of the region of Oman.
After his exploits in the Red Sea, Wellsted was assigned to Captain Stafford B. Haines in 1833. Together with the crew of the brig Palinurus, they would conduct the first modern survey of the southern coast of Arabia. This was a long exercise as the brig carefully edged along the coast recording previously unknown shoals, rocks and other marine hazards. In 1835, Haines and Wellsted asked permission from the Sultan of Muscat to conduct surveys in the interior of his territory, especially in relation to the location of ancient Arabian cities. The relationship between the British Empire and the Empire of Oman was very cordial and permission was quickly granted. Wellsted and a fellow officer, Lieut. Francis Whitelock, travelled deep into the desert, reaching the border of the Rub-al-Khali or the Great Empty, before returning to the coast. Their journey was unprecedented for modern Europeans and they returned with extraordinary detail about the local people, the names of settlements as well as very thorough descriptions of the topography and landscape.
Wellsted travelled to London in 1837, where he wrote an article for the Royal Geographical Society which included a folding map of Oman illustrating his and Whitelock’s routes. In 1838, his book, “Travels in Arabia” was published, again including a folding map of Oman, showing his and Whitelock’s routes. The latter was more developed and also made use of colour.
In both cases, the map shows the same area, namely the extreme eastern section of the Arabian Peninsula or in modern terms, Oman and the northern United Arab Emirates. Wellsted and Whitelock spent most of their time travelling and recording the interior and coast of modern Oman, with the map showing multiple tribal names, settlements, and topographical features such as oases and wadis. There is less detail in the region of the Emirates although Whitelock is shown to have travelled overland between Shinas (“Schinas”) and Sharjah. Probably due to issues of local access, there is more detail given along the Emirati Indian Ocean coast than the Emirati Gulf coast. This area is labelled “The Pirate Coast” and makes very early references to Dubai (“Debai”) Sharjah (“Sharja”) and Ajman (“Aymaun”). In the region of modern Abu Dhabi, the small village of “Abothubbu” is placed. Although there is less detail on this coast, it is very likely that Wellsted would have had access to the chart of George Barnes Brucks, another officer of the Indian Navy, who had spent many years compiling the definitive marine survey of the Gulf up to that time. Finally, a beautiful, panoramic vignette of the desert, together with an oasis with a prominent palm tree in the foreground adorns the lower left of the map.
Although both the Royal Geographical Society and the Travels in Arabia version of this map are rare, there is no doubt that the version published in the Travels is the finer and rarer issue. It uses colour to both mark and separate the routes of Wellsted and Whitelock. There is also a large dedication to Sir John Barrow, one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society as well as a prominent sponsor of scientific exploration. The R.G.S. map published in 1837 could be labelled a prototype; there was no colour and the title was simply “A Map of Oman”.
The example on offer is the 1838 edition, in original hand colour and entitled “Map of Oman a Country Hitherto Unknown to Europeans”. [MEAST4343] |