[Siege of Kut] The "Strand" Coloured Detail Map of Mesopotamia (Authentic Maps of the War series)

The Byron Studios for George Newnes

Published by George Newnes Ltd, Southampton Street, Strand, London, 1916

An attractively drawn colour pictorial topical map with text box, inset location map and glossary 62x50cm, folding down in blue printed pale grey title panels 16x25cm. Very good, neatly folded, with short closed tears, a small area of crinkling, and the map print (on fairly lightweight paper) ghosting through to the title panels. Rare, with Worldcat and Library Hub listing 6 locations between them (BL, NLS, Oxford, Danish Union Catalog, Royal Danish Library, LoC). This was designed for Newnes by Byron Studios with their monogram lower left, and printed by L. Upcott Gill & Son. Newnes issued this as part of a series for public consumption, with their advert listing other Strand "Authentic Maps for the War" for Europe, the Dardanelles, and Balkan States ("Strand" references their London address, also applied to their monthly Strand Magazine). This is undated, but the text explains it was issued while relief columns were on their way to lift the Ottoman Siege of a British Force at Kut Al Amara (Dec 1915 - Apr 1916). British Indian Expeditionary Force D had been sent to secure Basrah and the Shatt Al Arab to protect the flow of Persian oil that the Royal Navy now depended on, and had overreached itself in a failed advance on Baghdad. With the relief column described as held up by floods a few miles short at Sheikh Saad, this appears to be referencing the heavy rains days after the Battle of Sheikh Saad (6-8 Jan 1916) which made roads impassable during what would be the first in a series of attempts. Centred on the Hammar Marshes, coverage is bounded by Baghdad (NW), Pusht-i-Kuh in the Persian Zagros Mountains (NE) and the head of the Persian Gulf (SE), thus also including highly strategic parts of Persia and Kuwait. In addition to locations of present interest, the captions reflect an appreciation for the region's ancient history, culture, landscapes, and economic potential, as well as a demonstration of British imperial ambition and reach. On the latter, the Persian oil fields near Tashkar are captioned "The property of the British Admiralty", with pipelines drawn to the "Anglo Persian Oil Co Depot" at Abadan. At the head of the Gulf, Kuwait is subtitled as a "British Naval Station". And links from Fao into the wider Imperial network are shown in the form of ocean routes to Southampton, Aden and Bombay, and a telegraph cable to Bushire and India. Ancient locations include Ctesiphon, the ruins of the Tower of Babel, traditional site of the Garden of Eden, Ur, Ezra's Tomb, Susa, etc. Old hills, old reservoirs, ancient bridges, and extensive ruins are also marked. Closer to the present, there is the Pilgrim route to Mecca (indicated from Bir Kamekrun), the significance of Karbala ("Population of 25,000. A holy city of the Mohammedans"), oil and bitumen wells, water wells, boat bridges, forts and fortified country houses, ferries, telegraph offices, etc. At Basra a caption states it exports about 80,000 tons of dates yearly. At Lake Hamar "Marshes dotted with island villages inhabited by the El Basal Arabs". Britain's hand in developing Mesopotamia through large scale engineering is shown at Hindie Barrage near Karbala: "Stone dam 815ft long, 30ft high. First part of great irrigation scheme constructed by Sir William Willcocks". Topography is shown with hachures and selected spot heights, pictorial trees, and shading for marshes. Captions describe the terrain. Those around Kut and Sheikh Saad for example illustrate the challenges presently faced by the relief column, indicating areas liable to flood, marshes, and desert steppe with camelthorn. The inset map locates Mesopotamia in a wider region bounded by Turkey, India and Egypt with distance lines to key locations including Kabul, Karachi, Khartoum, Cairo, Constantinople etc. Seller Inventory # 6147

Bibliographic Details

Title: [Siege of Kut] The "Strand" Coloured Detail ...
Publisher: George Newnes Ltd, Southampton Street, Strand, London
Publication Date: 1916
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Very Good