Map of the West Indies & Central America Shewing the Countries were the Mahogany & Fine Forest Trees Abound

Selling Caribbean hardwoods to clients around the world.

This relatively nondescript map of the Caribbean and Central America was drawn by Trelawney Saunders in 1851. It was originally issued to accompany the descriptively titled, “The mahogany tree: its botanical character, qualities and uses, with practical suggestions for selecting and cutting it in the regions of its growth, in the West Indies and Central America, with notices of the projected interoceanic communications of Panama, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec, in relation to their production, and the supply of fine timber for shipbuilding and all other purposes”, published in London by Chaloner & Fleming, prominent British timber brokers. Several proposed trans-oceanic routes are highlighted in red and noted with dotted lines. The map is an interesting example of how the economic potential of future trade could drive massive infrastructure projects, and vice versa.