Old Map of Sri Lanka
Price range: £35.55 through £59.95
Old Map of Ceylon by John Rapkin for John Tallis, circa 1851
A fine art reproduction of a decorative antique map of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka with coloured boundaries and five engraved views, including Lake of Kandy, Adam’s Peak and Colombo. Jaffna, Galle and the island’s river valleys reward a closer look, all enclosed by an ornate Victorian border.
Reproduced as a fine art print and supplied unframed.
A stunning certified FINE ART PRINT on heavy textured art paper — not a poster
- Direct from the publisher — no middlemen
- Printed in-house in Cornwall
- Free UK delivery — international shipping available
- Produced to meet — and often exceed — museum-quality standards
Size
Fine Art Map Reproductions – Museum-Quality Printing
Unlike most online offerings, our maps are produced entirely in-house, not outsourced to print-on-demand or drop-shipping services. This allows complete control over quality while offering better value. Each map begins with a high-resolution original, carefully enhanced and printed to order using archival papers and pigment inks for exceptional clarity, depth, and longevity. Every piece is personally overseen — no map leaves our workshop unless it is of a quality we would be proud to display ourselves.
Authentic Old Map Paper & Accurate Colour Reproduction
Paper choice is essential to the authenticity of our maps. We use specially sourced 190gsm paper made in the UK from pure materials and traditionally pressed with natural woollen felts. This process creates a subtle, randomly textured surface that closely resembles an original antique document. Likewise the use of premium quality ink fully saturates the paper, producing remarkable clarity, depth, and historical character. Colour fastness and sharpness will remain good for in excess of 100 years!
Buy Old Maps Online in the UK Today Trading online since 1999
The Old Map Company of Great Britain offers a vast and carefully curated collection of the very finest expertly reproduced vintage maps. Our range includes works by renowned cartographers such as John Speed and Willem Blaeu, covering Scotland, England, and beyond. Free UK courier delivery is included, with EU, USA, and worldwide shipping available at cost and calculated at checkout. If you need assistance, our team is always happy to help you choose the perfect map.
RECENT REVIEWS
Verified ownerGot there in time and loves it! Cheers David [Gift from US to UK]
Verified ownerThanks Lauren. We received it today - it's gorgeous! Thank you, Ellan
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The print arrived safely and we're delighted with it - a lovely reminder of our honeymoon 15 years ago.
Verified ownerI have just received them! I'm sure our clients will be pleased with them and there could be more projects off the back of this one where we can use more. [Interior Designers]
Verified ownerI just received my map of Ireland by Ewart today and, as usual, I am delighted by its quality. The crispness and fineness of detail is excellent and the colour reproduction surpasses my expectations. Please relay my thanks to Steve for another fine effort!
Verified ownerMany thanks, Lauren. Very pleased with the map and the service: would recommend The Old Map Company to anyone interested in Old Maps.
Verified ownerMany thanks, the map arrived safely this morning, and I’m really pleased with it. A stunning reproduction, just as I had hoped. I will keep browsing your website, and may yet be tempted by more of your items! Have a great weekend.
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Verified ownerMy apologies for the very late reply. I wanted to reach out to thank you so much for rushing my order. My partner absolutely loved it. I am amazed with the service so that is a five-star from me. I wish you all the best.
This old map of Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, combines John Rapkin’s detailed island geography with five engraved views by H. Winkles. Coloured outlines distinguish divisions within the island, while the surrounding scenes show lakes, religious buildings, ancient ruins and the waterfront at Colombo. The elaborate border and warm paper tone give the whole sheet the character of an illustrated Victorian atlas.
Map Details
- Original title: Ceylon
- Map drawn and engraved by: John Rapkin
- Illustrations drawn and engraved by: H. Winkles
- Publisher: John Tallis & Company, London & New York
- Date: circa 1851
- Source publication: The Illustrated Atlas, edited by R. Montgomery Martin
- Area shown: Sri Lanka, with the neighbouring coast at Rameswaram and Adam’s Bridge
- Orientation: North at the top
From Jaffna to Galle
The narrow northern peninsula around Jaffna is drawn with particular care, together with its offshore islands. To the west, “Adam’s Bridge” is named across the shallow connection towards Rameswaram. Farther south, the island opens into a dense pattern of rivers, settlements and interior divisions, with the large provincial names standing out above the smaller lettering.
Colombo appears on the western coast, Galle near the southern tip and Trincomalee on the eastern shore. In the interior, Kandy sits among closely drawn hills and river valleys. The small place names and older spellings make this a map to examine closely, with many details that differ from a modern map of Sri Lanka.
Five views around the island
The largest illustration is “Lake of Kandy”, placed in the upper right, with buildings beside the water and hills rising behind them. Below it is “Adam’s Peak, from the Lake of Colombo”. On the left, an engraving captioned “Ruins of a Dagoba, Toopharamaya” shows standing columns among vegetation.
The lower left contains the “Temple of Buddha, Kalany”, while a waterfront view of Colombo fills the lower right. These separate scenes give the map much of its appeal: geography shares the sheet with architecture, landscape and the nineteenth-century engraver’s choice of notable places.
A Victorian atlas view of Ceylon
Published around 1851, the map belongs to the period when Sri Lanka was under British colonial rule and was commonly labelled Ceylon in British publications. Its provincial lettering and European place-name forms reflect that setting. Rapkin’s map and Winkles’s illustrations are separately credited along the lower edge, above the Tallis publisher’s imprint.
This fine art reproduction retains the original decorative border, illustrations and map proportions. Supplied unframed.