A beautiful 1855 first edition example of Colton's map of north eastern Africa.  Covers from the Arctic Sea south to Denmark and east as far as the Gulf of Finland.  Includes the modern day nations of Sweden and Norway, with part of adjacent Denmark and Finland.  Throughout, Colton identifies various cities, towns, rivers and assortment of additional topographical details.  Of particular interest is the legendary Lofoten Maelstrom in northwestern Norway.  This legendary whirlpool was the inspiration for <a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Allan_Poe" title="Edgar Allan Poe">Edgar Allan Poe</a>'s classic tale "Descent into the Maelstrom".   In reality, it is a periodic and powerful current caused by tidal variations in the region. Surrounded by Colton's typical spiral motif border.    Dated and copyrighted to J. H. Colton, 1855.  Published from Colton's 172 William Street Office in New York City.  Issued as page no. 20 in volume 2 of the first edition of George Washington Colton's  1855   Atlas of the World .
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:J._H._Colton" class="extiw" title="w:en:J. H. Colton"><span title="United-States geographer and mapmaker">J. H. Colton</span></a>
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