Battle of Austerlitz 2nd December 1805. An engraved and hand-coloured map 37, A. K. Johnston, Atlas to Alison’s History of Europe, 1850

Description

Battle of Austerlitz 2nd December 1805 (map plate 37), engraved by A.K. Johnston for Atlas to Alison’s History of Europe, published by W. Blackwood & Sons, Edinburgh & London, in 1850.

Alexander Keith Johnston (1804 – 1871) was a Scottish geographer and cartographer. His initial interest to geography was inspired by inaccuracy of maps Johnston used in his early years hiking in West Highlands. After graduating from University of Edinburgh he joined his brother in printing business “W. & A. K. Johnston” which used the clan motto “Ready Aye Ready” as their logo. The rest of Johnston’s life was devoted to geography and map making. Among other works, Johnston created the first English language physical globe of the world, and an atlas of military geography to accompany Alison’s History of Europe, first published in 1848. The company W & A K Johnston were appointed engravers to King William IV and Johnston was later elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The Battle of Austerlitz was fought on 2nd of December 1805, near town of Austerlitz (Slavkov u Brna in present-day Czech Republic), then part of the Austrian Empire. The battle ended with a decisive victory of Napoleon’s Grande Armee (also known as Armee d’Angleterre as intended to strike at England) and became one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle is considered as Napoleon’s tactical masterpiece which led to massive losses and a complete defeat of the Allied army, and an abrupt end of the War of the Third Coalition. Napoleon has provided generous rewards to his officers and soldiers and personally adopted the orphaned children of the fallen, allowing them to add “Napoleon” to their names. A famous quote derived from the Emperor Napoleon’s advice to his marshals at Austerlitz battlefield: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake”.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a painstakingly restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we thoroughly recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

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