Description

Copper engraving with original colour in outline, contemporary mounted on four joined sheets of paper, original taxation mark in the lower right corner 71 x 57 cm (18 x 22.5 inches) (slightly age-toned from glue on the back, some tiny, hardly noticeable worm holes on the right-hand side, narrow lower margin, otherwise in a good condition). 
 

A rare wall map showcases Wurttemberg in Germany with its political and administrative districts, roads, hunting lodges, post stations, destroyed castles, villages with a parish church, villages with a filial church, villages without a church, abolished monasteries etc. The word Oberamt, was a legal term for the administrative units in Wurttemberg between 1758 and 1934. 

The map shows the Kingdom of Wurttemberg after the first years of reforms, made by the king William I (reigning from 1816-1864). Under William I among others the economy of the region improved, new roads were built, the construction of railroads begun, and the kingdom joined the German customs union (Zollverein, in 1828).
The map was issued by Georg Ebner (1784-1863), a publisher from Stuttgart, most known for his prints, showcasing Stuttgart and surroundings, which were also sold as tourist souvenirs. He took over his father’s firm in 1813. In 1833 Ebner, who is in a contemporary article mentioned as a publisher of a special map of Wurttemberg, received a privilege for 6 years. 

The mapmaker was Christian Friedrich Hammer (1760-1838), who was mostly known for his cooperation with the Homann map makers from Nuremberg. 
The map is very rare. We could not find any examples of the map in institutions nor any references in the literature available to us. 

A scarce version of the map from 1831 is held by the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart (inv. nr. N 110 W 304) and Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.  The version is also mentioned in the contemporary literature (Wilhelm Engelmann, Bibliotheca geographica: Verzeichniss der seit der Mitte des vorigen…, 1858, p. 1056, – the work, which lists all the works on geography and travels, published in Germany between 1750 and 1858 does not mention our version.).

References: Cf. Regierungsblatt für das Königreich Württemberg, 1833, p. 143. Manfred H. Grieb (ed.), Nürnberger Künstlerlexikon: Bildende Künstler, Kunsthandwerker, Gelehrte…, 2007, pp. 290-291; 566.