Original antique map depicting the Polish capital and its surroundings. Notably, it includes a "True Representation of the Customary Manner in which they Elect their Kings," highlighting the political significance of the area.
This is the only engraving from the period that details this election process.
The map was produced by John Spilsbury, a prominent engraver and map seller in Covent Garden, London, in 1763.
It is recognized for providing a detailed, accurate depiction of 18th-century Warsaw, a period during which the city was undergoing significant development and political change.
It was a period when the King of Poland was elected by the nobility, and this map serves as both a geographical survey and a historical document showing the election site, a "curious" aspect for a British audience at the time.
John Spilsbury was a British cartographer and engraver. He is credited as the inventor of the jigsaw puzzle. Spilsbury created them for educational purposes, and called them "Dissected Maps".
Spilsbury advertised himself as an 'engraver and map dissector in wood' in 1763 and is almost certainly the earliest commercial producer of jigsaw puzzles. He created the first puzzle in 1766 as an educational tool to teach geography.
He affixed a world map to wood and carved each country out to create the first puzzle. Sensing a business opportunity, he created puzzles on eight themes - the World, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, England and Wales, Ireland, and Scotland.
