Vrooman Daniel (1 results)

The earliest known example of Rev. Vrooman's monumental manuscript plan of Canton [Guangzhou], China Vrooman, Daniel. (Guangzhou) Map of the City and Entire Suburbs of Canton. Made By Rev. D. Vrooman. 1855. Canton. 1365 x 723 mm. Hand drawn on thin paper and laid on a larger sheet of paper. Restorations, with minor areas of loss and old folds. Vrooman's exceedingly rare manuscript plan offers a little-seen view of Canton on the eve of the Second Opium War. Constructed by Vrooman using Chinese converts as spies to pace off and describe sections of Canton which were closed to foreigners, Vrooman's map is among the earliest surviving western maps of Canton and contains intricate details of life and trade in the port city. Hand drawn with individual block print letters, the map is extremely rare and substantially different than the later Vrooman maps issued after the seizure of Canton during the Second Opium War. Until recently, the 1855 plan was known in only one institutional example (British Library), but comparison with that example at the British Library reveals that this example pre-dates that model. Similarly, this example appears to also pre-date the example recently acquired by the Library of Congress. This, then, is the earliest known, and a previously unrecorded, example of the map. It shows the important port of Canton before it was attacked and damaged in the Second Opium War (1856-1860). This earliest example, dated 1855, shows Canton with English labels. It is a large plan in large scale, showing the city's streets, the walls of the Old City, and the developed areas near the riverside. Other details on the map include ponds and the many rice paddies surrounding the city. While the other surviving examples show the hills to the north in profile, with forts and pagodas perched on their summits, the present example provides a simpler more utilitarian presentation of this information. Notes on various structures and areas tell of their purpose, including pack houses, coal depots, flower gardens, lumber yards, and house boats. Burial places are also marked, as is a house for a blind man, a home for elderly women, and a leper colony. Notably, many of these words are mis-spelled, strongly suggesting that the map was copied by a non-English speaker from Vrooman's original map. All the known examples include some misspellings, but this seems to have significantly more than the others. The title is in the upper right, a simple arching notice with the title, the name of the maker (Rev. Daniel Vrooman), and the date of creation. Rarity This 1855 map was known to survive in a single institutional example, held at the British Library. Comparison with the present example, however, reveals this to be the earlier of the two, with the British Library as a second state and showing the island of Shamin. A full description is available upon request.