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Trelawney Saunders, An Atlas of Twelve Maps of India: Illustrating the Mountains and River Systems; the Irrigation; Civil Divisions, Population and Languages; Railways, Roads, Telegraphs, Post Offices, Ports, etc. Military commands and posts, famines, meteorology, crops, forests, and one-inch surveys. Accompanied by tables and notes, London: Edward Stanford, 1889

377 pages, including 11 double-page colour lithographic maps, each accompanied by explanatory text leaves, tables, and notes, including one three-fold map; quarter cloth over dark brown boards with fresh spine
23.25 x 14 x 0.5 in (59 x 35.5 x 1.5 cm)

VISUALISING THE RAJ: AN 1889 INDIA OFFICE ATLAS OF GOVERNANCE, LANGUAGE, AND LAND

Comprising eleven of twelve colour-coded lithographic maps with explanatory texts, Trelawney Saunders’ data-rich administrative atlas presents the subcontinent in layers—from population and famine zones to railways, rainfall, and language distribution—as visualised for British governance in late 19th-century India.

Published in 1872, An Atlas of Twelve Maps of India by Trelawney Saunders is a foundational British imperial cartographic work—serving as both a visual instrument of governance and a textual archive of the subcontinent’s colonial infrastructure. Designed for use by administrators, engineers, military officers, and policymakers, this comprehensive atlas reflected the logistical and ideological priorities of the Raj following the consolidation of power after the Revolt of 1857.

Each of the eleven large-format maps presents a key functional layer of India’s geography, combining topography, infrastructure, demographics, language, natural resource distribution, and meteorological patterns. The plates include:

1) A Map of the Civil Divisions of India, Including Governments, Divisions & Districts, Political Agencies, and Native States, with Their Subdivisions, Tehsils, Taluks, etc. Also the cities & towns with 10,000 inhabitants and upwards.
2) The Rivers of India: The River Basins and Oceanic & Inland Watersheds, and also the Irrigation Works.
3) [Missing].
4) The Distribution of the Population of India.
5) A Map of the Prevailing Languages and Dialects of India and Its Borders, Chiefly According to the Indian Census of 1881.
6) A Map of India: Its Railways, Chief Roads and Trade Routes, Telegraph Lines & Cables, Seaports, Lighthouses & Lightships, Periodical Steamship Routes, Head Post Offices & Circles.
7) Military Map of India Showing Divisional and District Commands, Military Headquarters, Stations, Volunteer Headquarters, Depôts, Outposts, Sanitaria.
8) A Map of India Showing at One View the Area of Each of the Famines Since the Beginning of the Present Century and Distinguishing the Parts Slightly, Severely, or Intensely Affected.
9) A Meteorological Map of India Showing the Maxima and Minima of Air Temperature and Pressure for 1882, Together with the Monthly Resultant of Wind Observations and the Annual Rainfall for the Same Period.
10) The Average of the Chief Crops in the British Districts & Native States of India So Far as It Is Supplied by Official Returns & Information.
11) The Distribution of Forest Trees in India.
12) An Index Map to the Revenue Surveys of British Districts and the Topographical Surveys of Native States in India on the Scale of 1 Inch to the Mile.

Saunders, then serving as a cartographic advisor to the India Office, drew on Survey of India records, revenue maps, and census data to construct this layered portrayal of a governable India. What makes this atlas particularly compelling is its multidisciplinary ambition—melding geography with economics, sociology, military intelligence, and climatology.

Visually, the lithographic maps—expertly printed by Edward Stanford—use colour-coding, shaded relief, and symbol keying to convey complex relationships in a legible and modern style. Each map is accompanied by textual explanatory leaves, providing statistical summaries and interpretive context for policymakers.

Today, the atlas is not only valued for its rarity and production quality but also as a material expression of colonial statecraft, encapsulating the utilitarian spirit of Victorian data-driven governance.

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