Stanford's Library Map of Australasia. Constructed by A. Keith Johnston

London, Edward Stanford, [circa 1862/ first published May 10th 1859]. A very large engraved chart in four sheets (combined printed surface 1455 × 1600 mm, overall total size 1575 × 1660 mm), extensively hand-coloured and mounted together on linen, edged left and right in dark green silk (partially missing, and almost entirely detached); top and bottom margins trimmed close to the printed borders and replaced with plain stiff paper, backed onto the one piece of linen. Occasional screw holes in these margins suggest that wooden rollers (almost certainly as issued) have subsequently been removed. Apart from minimal foxing, a few light marks, and some settled dust, this is an excellent example of a map more often than not encountered as a folding cased map, dissected into 48 panels and mounted on linen. Comparison with digitised copies online indicates some subtle differences relating to the progress of John McDouall Stuart, and also the Burke and Wills expedition, enabling us to narrow the suggested date of publication of this impression. The map also has a large inset 'Chart of the World Showing the Relative Positions of Australia and the Other British Possessions'. Tooley 1187 (the 1859 edition).…