Bombay. Plate 40., published in 1893 as part of Constable’s Hand Atlas of India, presents a richly detailed color plan of a city in motion between sea and statute. Bookended by Back Bay and Bombay Harbour, the plate captures Bombay’s distinctive littoral geometry while integrating the urban fabric—blocks, streets, parks, post offices, police stations, and named landmarks—into a lucid civic portrait. Church Gate anchors the western esplanade, balanced by the eastern Government Dockyard and a prominently labeled Clock Tower in the University quarter. As a city map it is notable for marrying topography and governance: waterways and canals are traced with the same care as avenues and maidans, giving a near-synoptic view of how commerce, administration, and everyday life cohered in the late nineteenth-century metropolis.

The waterfronts are the map’s dramatic proscenium. Along Back Bay, Marine Drive and Back Bay Road string together promenades and residential quarters, while Arthur Bunder Road draws the eye south toward Colaba’s maritime edge. Across the city’s belly, the cartography of Bombay Harbour foregrounds quays, timber basins, and the Government Dockyard—gateways that explain the city’s rise as an imperial entrepôt. Rivers and canals are not afterthoughts but arterial, showing drainage cuts and navigation channels that knit inland neighborhoods to the port. With post offices and police stations carefully sited near piers and causeways, the map reveals how communication, security, and shipping infrastructure overlapped to regulate movement of people, letters, and cargo.

Inside the island, vigorous thoroughfares articulate the social landscape. Churchgate Street and Princess Street organize the Fort and bazaar districts, while Mohammed Ali Road threads the mercantile spine northward. Grant Road and Tardeo Road splay toward Parel Street and the mill belt, and Girgaum Road curls to the seaside commons. Pedder Road and Hughes Road climb the Malabar Hill flank; Wellington Road and Worli Sea Face delineate the coast’s arc; Mazgaon Road and Ghatkopar Road reach to the dockyards and mainland corridors. Parks and maidans—signaled near Church Gate and along Victoria Gardens Road—punctuate the density with oases of air and parade ground. The inclusion of rivers and canals, alongside roads like N M Joshi Marg and L B S Road, makes the plan unusually attentive to Bombay’s hydrology and its emerging industrial grid.

Civic order is mapped with unusual precision. The array of police stations charts the colonial state’s footprint street by street, while a tidy constellation of post offices indexes the city’s circulation of information and finance. Important buildings—courts, colleges, hospitals, and the renowned Clock Tower by the University—cluster where power and pedagogy intertwine, and the Government Dockyard proclaims the naval-fiscal armature of the harbor. As an urban plan, the plate excels at layering themes: administrative boundaries, transit corridors, green spaces, and watercourses are harmonized through color and symbol. The result is not only navigational but diagnostic, exposing the logic of late-Victorian planning from Dhobi Talao Road to Parel and from Back Bay to the anchorage.

The hand behind this synthesis is J. G. (John George) Bartholomew of The Edinburgh Geographical Institute, with copyright by John Bartholomew & Co.—a cartographer celebrated for elevating clarity and color to instruments of analysis. In Constable’s Hand Atlas of India, a sixty-map suite with meticulous indexing, Bartholomew fused administrative and thematic intelligence for scholars, traders, and civil servants alike. Plate 40 stands out within that corpus for its metropolitan completeness: shipping and shorelines, mills and maidans, bazaars and boulevards, all legible at a glance yet generous in detail. As a historical depiction of Bombay during a pivotal decade, it remains a touchstone for understanding how the city’s neighborhoods, institutions, and maritime economy were braided into one coherent, modernizing system.

Streets and roads on this map

• Abysmal Road
• Arthur Bunder Road
• Back Bay Road
• Churchgate Street
• Dhobi Talao Road
• E Avenue
• Ghatkopar Road
• Girgaum Road
• Grant Road
• H Street
• Hughes Road
• L B S Road
• Mazgaon Road
• Marine Drive
• Mohammed Ali Road
• N S Road
• N M Joshi Marg
• P D Highway
• Parel Street
• Pedder Road
• Prarthana Samaj Road
• Princess Street
• Pritam Road
• T B Road
• Tardeo Road
• Victoria Gardens Road
• W H Road
• Wellington Road
• Worli Sea Face
• Y B Chavan Road

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Back Bay
• Bombay Harbour
• Church Gate
• Clock Tower
• Government Dockyard
• Important buildings and landmarks (various)
• Parks and recreational areas
• Police stations
• Post offices
• Rivers and canals

Historical and design context

• Created in 1893 as Bombay. Plate 40.
• Cartographer: J. G. (John George) Bartholomew; published by The Edinburgh Geographical Institute; copyright John Bartholomew & Co.
• Part of "Constable's Hand Atlas of India" (60 maps with table of contents, index, and advertisements).
• Full-color plan combining administrative, thematic, and regional representation.
• Illustrates the city’s blocks, thoroughfares, green spaces, civic institutions, waterways, and key buildings.
• Bound in red cloth boards with a quarter maroon goatskin spine; gilt crown and embossed gold title.
• Historical significance: portrays late-19th-century Bombay’s urban planning and geography during a period of significant change.
• Themes emphasize administrative and urban planning, showcasing city layout and civic infrastructure.

Please double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.

This map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.

Many of our maps and art prints are chosen as thoughtful gifts for homes, offices, studies and meaningful places.

Choose a framed option for the easiest ready-to-hang gift, or choose an unframed print if the recipient may prefer to select their own frame.

We make orders locally in 23 countries around the world, so gifts can often be produced close to the recipient. This helps them arrive faster, travel more safely, and avoid customs or import duty surprises.

• We can deliver directly to the recipient
• Framed pieces arrive ready to hang
• Unframed prints are carefully packed in a strong protective tube
• Almost every order is made locally, for faster, safer gifting
• 90-day returns give the recipient time to decide

If you are not sure what to choose, please contact us. We can help you pick the right map, size, finish or delivery option.

Most orders are made locally and delivered in around 2–3 working days, depending on the product, size and destination.

We print and frame maps and artwork in 23 countries around the world, so your order is usually made close to you or your recipient. That means faster delivery, less time in transit, and no customs or import duty surprises.

Personalised and customised pieces usually take an extra 1–2 working days, because we prepare your design and send it to you for approval before printing.

Very large framed orders can take a little longer, as they need extra care in production and delivery.

Every order is carefully packaged: unframed prints are sent in a strong protective tube, while framed pieces are securely packed with protective materials around the frame.

If you need your order by a particular date, please contact us before ordering. We’ll check the best production route and delivery option for your location.

Express delivery is available at checkout for most countries. Next-day delivery is available in the UK, US, Singapore and the UAE.

Your order is covered by our 90-day returns policy and 5-year guarantee.

Read our full delivery and local production guide

My standard frame is a gallery style black ash hardwood frame. It is simple and quite modern looking. My standard frame is around 20mm (0.8in) wide.

I use super-clear acrylic (perspex/acrylite) for the frame glass. It's lighter and safer than glass - and it looks better, as the reflectivity is lower.

Six standard frame colours are available for free (black, dark brown, dark grey, oak, white and antique gold). Custom framing and mounting/matting is available if you're looking for something else.

Most maps, art and illustrations are also available as a framed canvas. We use matte (not shiny) cotton canvas, stretch it over a sustainably sourced box wood frame, and then 'float' the piece within a wood frame. The end result is quite beautiful, and there's no glazing to get in the way.

All frames are provided "ready to hang", with either a string or brackets on the back. Very large frames will have heavy duty hanging plates and/or a mounting baton. If you have any questions, please get in touch.

See some examples of my framed maps and framed canvas maps.

Alternatively, I can also supply old maps and artwork on canvas, foam board, cotton rag and other materials.

If you want to frame your map or artwork yourself, please read my size guide first.

My maps are extremely high quality reproductions of original maps.

I source original, rare maps from libraries, auction houses and private collections around the world, restore them at my London workshop, and then use specialist giclée inks and printers to create beautiful maps that look even better than the original.

My maps are printed on acid-free archival matte (not glossy) paper that feels very high quality and almost like card. In technical terms the paper weight/thickness is 10mil/200gsm. It's perfect for framing.

I print with Epson ultrachrome giclée UV fade resistant pigment inks - some of the best inks you can find.

I can also make maps on canvas, cotton rag and other exotic materials.

Learn more about The Unique Maps Co.

Map personalisation

If you're looking for the perfect anniversary or housewarming gift, I can personalise your map to make it truly unique. For example, I can add a short message, or highlight an important location, or add your family's coat of arms.

The options are almost infinite. Please see my map personalisation page for some wonderful examples of what's possible.

To order a personalised map, select "personalise your map" before adding it to your basket.

Get in touch if you're looking for more complex customisations and personalisations.

Map ageing

I have been asked hundreds of times over the years by customers if they could buy a map that looks even older.

Well, now you can, by selecting Aged before you add a map to your basket.

All the product photos you see on this page show the map in its Original form. This is what the map looks like today.

If you select Aged, I will age your map by hand, using a special and unique process developed through years of studying old maps, talking to researchers to understand the chemistry of aging paper, and of course... lots of practice!

If you're unsure, stick to the Original colour of the map. If you want something a bit darker and older looking, go for Aged.

See some amazing examples of Aged maps.

If you are not happy with your order for any reason, contact me and I'll get it fixed ASAP, free of charge. Please see my returns and refund policy for more information.

I am very confident you will like your restored map or art print. I have been doing this since 1984. I'm a 5-star Etsy seller. I have sold tens of thousands of maps and art prints and have over 5,000 real 5-star reviews. My work has been featured in interior design magazines, on the BBC, and on the walls of dozens of 5-star hotels.

I use a unique process to restore maps and artwork that is massively time consuming and labour intensive. Hunting down the original maps and illustrations can take months. I use state of the art and eye-wateringly expensive technology to scan and restore them. As a result, I guarantee my maps and art prints are a cut above the rest. I stand by my products and will always make sure you're 100% happy with what you receive.

Almost all of my maps and art prints look amazing at large sizes (200cm, 6.5ft+) and I can frame and deliver them to you as well, via special oversized courier. Contact me to discuss your specific needs.