'Residentiekaarten' : the contents of the 19th century topographic maps of Java

摘要

The "residentiekaart" of Java and Madura islands, produced from 1853- 1886 (updated editions appeared for some residencies until 1920) at the scale 1:100 000 received gold medals at a number of world exhibitions because of the advanced printing techniques used in its production. Carel Alphons Eckstein, master printer and later director of the topographic survey of the Netherlands, had devised a lithographic printing process (Eckstein 1878) that allowed for a whole range of tints to be printed from each of the four lithographic stones used for each map sheet, a precursor of the later offset printing really. This reproduction aspect of the fine multi- coloured maps (the contents were differentiated in some 30 colours), applied since 1866, overshadowed any discussion of the contents, which was just as unique for a topographic map of a densely settled tropical area in the 1850s. The maps showed, next to the topography, relief and geographical names, an immensely detailed (certainly for the scale 1:100 000) land use depiction.