[RARE WALL MAP OF THE MIDDLE EAST BY WAR OFFICE] Map of the Middle East and Near East. Scale: 1:4,000,000

War Office, Geographical Section – General Staff No. 2957, [London], 1934.

Original chromo-lithographed map mounted on cloth consisting of 50 adjoining sheets folded in light brown original wrappers. 140,5 x 131,5 cm. Light tear and water stain on the cover label, slightly loose on connections of the cloth. Otherwise, a very good copy.

A rare colour lithographed fiftyfold wall map of the Middle East centred on the Arabian Peninsula, with North and East African shores, the Gulf of Aden, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Sinai Peninsula, the Mediterranean, Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Aden, Yemen, the Gulf of Oman.

The map was produced with the method of Conical Orthomorphic Projection by the War Office, probably in London. To its maximum extent, it includes the complete Middle East of the 1930s as well as the European side (Balkans and Italy, etc) and the Caucasus.

The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964 when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). The Topographical Section was responsible for the series consisting mainly of topographical maps produced for British intelligence and military use.

As of December 2023, we could not trace any copies of this map in the OCLC although the LoC includes newer editions (40s & 50s).