Heinrich Berghaus, with support of Alexander von Humboldt had started 'Geographische Kunstschule' (Geographica School of Art) in 1839 in Potsdam, close to Berlin, following the example of the school for engravers at the Archives Militaires Generales in Paris (since 1811).
Berghaus had been riding numerous hobbyhorses (terrain representation, isolines, scale indicators, map projections, etc.) without much success, but now he could finally put them to work with his pupils.