This 'Serio-comique map of Europe' designed and printed by Johnson, Riddle & Co. in 1914, depicts the continent at war. European nations are represented by various breeds of dog with the British bulldog, the French poodle, the German dachshund and Russia illustrated as a great bear.
Britain is approached from the north by a giant sailor holding numerous dog leads with battleships threatening the continent. Eastern Europe is dominated by a large steamroller driven by the Tsar of Russia flattening everything in its way.
Other European countries are identified by figures which are equally amusing – a Spanish bullfighter, a smiling Dutchman, a knife-wielding Greek ready to stab his neighbours in the back and an Italian carabinieri with pistol in hand.
A text by Walter Emanuel inserted below the map provides a commentary to the political situation in Europe in the early stages of the First World War.
How did World War One break out? Professor David Stevenson closely examines the three stages that led to war being declared between Austria-Hungary, Serbia, Germany, Russia, France, and Britain.
Objective geographical representation isn’t always the intention of maps – they can also provide social, economic or political commentary on a region, as British Library maps curator, Tom Harper discusses.
Share this page
Please consider the environment before printing