Abstract
Abstract. This paper discusses the role of Philippe Vandermaelen (1795–1869) and his Établissement géographique de Bruxelles in the mapping of Turkey in Europe in the 19th century. After a short presentation of the Brussels Institute up to the 1850s, and of its connection with the family of Thomas Best Jervis (1797–1857), first director of the British Topographical and Statistical Department, the paper first addresses the context of the publication of the Atlas de l’Europe by the Belgian cartographer, in particular its first instalment dedicated to European Turkey (1829), and offers an overview of later publications on the subject. After this it focuses on Franz von Weiss’s map of the area (1829–1830), Jervis’s reproduction of the Weiss map (1854), and Vandermaelen’s role in the latter’s production.
Highlights
In the first half of 1830, only months before the revolution which would lead to the creation of Belgium, Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869), autodidact geographer, founded his Établissement géographique de Bruxelles (Silvestre 2016)
The Brussels trader in dyes, herbs and colours was already well introduced to the scientific milieus in Belgium and abroad, basically thanks to one major cartographic enterprise
In the Institute’s archives we find the visiting cards of Thomas Best Jervis, his wife Anne Paget, and both their children, Annie and William
Summary
In the first half of 1830, only months before the revolution which would lead to the creation of Belgium, Philippe Vandermaelen (1795-1869), autodidact geographer, founded his Établissement géographique de Bruxelles (Silvestre 2016). Thomas Best Jervis’s short-lived career as director of the Topographical and Statistical Department, from 1855 to 1857, is intimately related to the Crimean War. Most of his maps can be traced to Vandermaelen’s mappothèque, where some have received the vignette ‘Jervis’
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