Map of the Month Jun 10 – Serio-Comic War Map by F W Rose

Having been featured recently on BBC 4’s excellent The Beauty of Maps, I found F. W. Rose’s Serio-Comic War Map absolutely fascinating.



Published in 1877, this represents not only one for the first examples of a satirical map, but also illustrates how effectively a map can depict much more than the physical landscape. In this case, Rose’s map gives a sense of social conditions throughout Europe and effectively captures the geo-political situation, specifically the ever increasing threat of Russia, reaching westwards like the tentacles of an octopus.

The reactions of each nation to this Russian advancement varies greatly: Turkey brandishes a pistol and attempts to swot the advancing tentacle with a free hand – the Ottoman Empire is ready for conflict. Spain has its back turned, not wishing to become involved in any potential clashes. Germany has stockpiles of ammunition should they be required, and Britain is vigilant, cautiously observing events from across the North Sea.



The use of cartoonist Fred Rose’s octopus to depict a superpower has been reincarnated several times for different purposes, showing what an effective symbol the octopus could be. But, it’s the original which really captures my imagination.

Tim Broughton, Collins Marketing Executive