DESCRIPTION: A rare original pictorial map of Singapore and its environs, published in The Illustrated London News on February 12, 1938, titled "The Empire's New [GBP] 17,000,000 Strategic Base in the East: Singapore, Its Docks and Aerodromes." Drawn by G. H. Davis for the ILN, the map presents a richly detailed bird's-eye rendering of the island at the moment when Britain's massive naval base at Sembawang was nearing completion. Relief is shown pictorially, with hills, mangrove swamps, plantations, reservoirs, roads, railways, airfields, and coastal defenses all carefully delineated. The Johore Strait, Main Strait, and surrounding waterways are prominently emphasized, underscoring Singapore's strategic position astride the main sea routes between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. An inset map at lower right situates Singapore within Southeast Asia, reinforcing its imperial importance as a keystone of British naval power.
The accompanying text explains the military and imperial context in detail, describing the combined roles of the Army, Navy, and Air Force, the opening of the 1,000-foot graving dock in February 1938, and the enormous scale of the investment in docks, aerodromes, batteries, and infrastructure. Particular attention is given to the naval base's capacity to service capital ships, the airfields at Seletar and elsewhere, and the integration of Singapore into Britain's wider Far Eastern defense system. Published just months before the mounting crises of the late 1930s, the map captures British strategic confidence at its peak, only a few years before the fall of Singapore in 1942 would dramatically alter imperial assumptions. As a contemporary visual document, it stands as both a striking example of interwar news illustration and a powerful artifact of prewar geopolitical planning in the Far East.
PUBLICATION DATE: 1938
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: Singapore
BODY OF WATER: Main Strait, Strait of Johore
CONDITION: Very Good.
Clean. No tears. Horizontal and vertical folds. 2 nearly invisible traces of staple holes at centerfold.
COLORING: Brown ink.
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 18
" x
13 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 89
PRICE: $600
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