The Universal Geography – Élisée Reclus – 1880s | 10-Volume Set with Maps & Engravings

The Universal Geography 1880s Reclus edition is a complete ten-volume English-language set based on Élisée Reclus’ monumental survey of the physical and human world. Edited by E. G. Ravenstein, this edition covers the Earth’s geography and peoples across all major regions, illustrated with numerous engravings and a wide array of large, often double-page, color maps. Volumes are bound in original decorative cloth with gilt-stamped titles and illustrated spine panels featuring crowned crests and stylized peacocks, characteristic of Victorian-era publishing design.

This edition of Universal Geography features detailed regional overviews supported by illustrative material drawn from late 19th-century sources. The engraved plates depict architecture, rural and urban life, historical figures, and topographical features. Maps vary from continent-wide to provincial in scope, with chromatic boundaries and relief markings that reflect the printing practices of the period.

Each volume addresses specific territories with commentary on terrain, population, trade routes, and settlement patterns. Ethnographic passages include descriptions of belief systems, material culture, language, and political structures. Coverage extends across Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, with narrative sections drawn from explorers’ accounts and available regional data of the time.

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Earth and Its Inhabitants: The Universal Geography
• Author(s): Élisée Reclus
• Contributor(s): E. G. Ravenstein (Editor)
• Publisher: London, J. S. Virtue & Co.
• Edition: First English Edition, c.1880s
• Format: Royal Octavo, 10 volumes
• Binding: Brown cloth, gilt-stamped spine and boards
• Size:  11 x 7.5 in (27.5 cm x 19 cm)
• Collation: Every two divisions continuously paginated
• Illustrations: Countless engravings and double-page color maps throughout
• Contents Include:
  • Phoenician exploration and influence across early Europe
  • Medieval trade power of Venice and Genoa
  • Role of the Mediterranean in shaping medieval trade routes
  • Slavic myth and superstition including tales of phantoms and vampires
  • Descriptions of early Anatolian inhabitants
  • Territorial influence of ancient Rome on modern Italy

Condition:

Bound in original publisher’s brown cloth with gilt and black spine and board decorations. Spines and covers show moderate rubbing to extremities and minor wear to corners and spine ends. Boards remain secure. Internally clean with tight textblocks. All volumes complete. Engraved illustrations remain crisp and the maps retain strong color. Double-page maps are properly affixed with no tears at folds. Endpapers unmarked. No loose or missing pages.

Why Collect This?

• Complete ten-volume English edition of Reclus’ global geographic work
• Decorative pictorial cloth bindings
• Includes a large number of engraved illustrations and double-page color maps
• Suitable for collectors of 19th-century cartographic or travel literature

Item Number: #28712