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Austrian cartographer and writer Franz Johann Joseph von Reilly (1766-1820) began work on his extensive Schauplatz der fünf Theile der Welt in 1789, but had to abandon it in 1806 due to the Napoleonic Wars. The atlas therefore only covers Europe, but with 830 sheets, it is one of the most extensive atlases. Von Reilly’s work also appeared in a smaller size than the usual larger formats, which is why it sold very successfully.

The title page of the volume in the exhibition is the one of the second part, published in 1791, describing Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal. In fact, the volume also contains the first part on Hungary and the Ottoman Empire in Europe, Poland, Prussia, the Russian Empire in Europe, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Iceland and Greenland, as well as Great Britain and Ireland, published in 1789. A detailed alphabetical list of the maps included in that volume was added in neat pen and ink script at the beginning.

The maps in Reilly’s atlas are copper engravings. The marks around the edges, where the plates were pressed deeply into the paper, are still clearly visible. This technique was developed and used since the 15th century and became the most popular one for reproducing images. It was replaced in the 19th century by modern flat printing techniques such as lithography, which also made it possible to print in colour. Until then, illustrations, including the maps in Reilly’s atlas, were coloured by hand.

A digital version of Reilly’s atlas is available e-rara.ch. This exhibit and other atlases from the 18th and 19th centuries are shown in the exhibition «Exploring the world» on floor J of the Main Library – Science.

Franz J. J. von Reilly: Schauplatz der fünf Theile der Welt. Nach und zu Büschings grosser Erdbeschreibung.Wien 1791