Description

Detailed map with original colour and title in Swedish shows Uppland, a historical province on the eastern coast of Sweden

The map was made by Georg Biurman (1700 – 1755), a Swedish surveyor and engraver in Stockholm. He became known for his detailed atlases of Stockholm and Sweden. In 1742 Biurman published his famous travel book on Sweden and Finland Vägvisare uti Svea- och Göta Riken samt Stor-Förstendömet Finland. The guide contains two copper engraved maps with detailed positions of roads, inns, cities, and other locations and distances of the main roads between Stockholm and other towns. Although Biurman’s maps were extremely important and progressive, they were commercially unsuccessful and he needed to close his printing shop. After his death in 1755 his maps were re-published by the Swedish cadastral office.

The map was published separetely by Kongliga Lantmäteri Contoiret (Royal Institute of Surveyors). The institute started publishing separately issued maps of Sweden in 1739 with a goal to map the country in uniform maps. The first map was the grand “Charta öfwer Mälaren” by Jacob Nordencreutz. The maps Upland, Västmanland, Södermanland, Nerike, Skåne and a map of Sweden were issued in the 1740s and early 1750s. The next map – map of Medelpad – was not published until 1769. It was followed by the series of maps in the next 25 years, the last one being „harta öfver Heinola Höfdingedöme“ in 1793. Many parts of the country were not covered.

The maps were never sold bound in an atlas since the project was never finished.