A Map Of The Principal Rivers Shewing Their Courses, Countries, And Comparative Lengths

Comparative diagram showing the relative lengths of rivers around the world.

Published in 1834 by Baldwin and Cradock of Paternoster Row for the Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (S.D.U.K), this chart depicts the source, course and mouth of the longest rivers from each continent. Encircling a compass rose in the middle of the page, each river is numbered according to an index in the lower left hand corner, which also provides their length in English miles. Relevant topographical or political details, such as mountain ranges, cities and important tributaries are also depicted.

The S.D.U.K was a British organization founded in London and dedicated to producing inexpensive publications for the general, self-educated public – this informative chart is an excellent representation of that mission’s work. It can also be seen as a tool for furthering England’s imperial agenda, as a number of these long rivers (which provide significant economic and development opportunity) were under British colonial occupation at the time of publication.