Malay Archipelago

Large and finely engraved atlas map of the Malay Archipelago, covering maritime Southeast Asia from Indochina and the South China Sea southwards to Java, Timor, and northern Australia, and eastwards to the Philippines, the Moluccas, and western New Guinea. The map encompasses the principal island groups of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes (Sulawesi), the Philippine Islands, and the Lesser Sundas, together with surrounding seas including the Java Sea, Banda Sea, Flores Sea, Arafura Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean. An inset at upper right provides a detailed plan of Manila and its environs.

Printed in the characteristic style of The Times Atlas, the map employs hypsometric colour layering to show relief, with bathymetric shading for surrounding waters and political boundaries delineated in red. Place-names are densely and clearly labelled, reflecting the high standards of accuracy and engraving long associated with John Bartholomew & Son, official cartographers to The Times. Colonial-era nomenclature and boundaries situate the map firmly within the late colonial and early post-war period.

Produced as part of one of the most authoritative English-language atlases of the twentieth century, this plate offers a comprehensive and visually striking overview of Southeast Asia at a moment of profound geopolitical change, on the eve of or shortly following decolonisation.