A serio comic map of Europe done in ink and water colour. The complex political situation in Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century caused a proliferation of Serio Comic or satirical maps to be produced. One of the earliest was the ‘Comic Map of the Seat of War with Entirely New Features’ produced by Rock Brothers & Payne in London, May 30, 1854. Two years later a German edition appeared with the title ‘Komische Karte des Kriegsschauplatzes’. This manuscript example is an accurate copy of these maps and is dated 1855 although the name J. H. Lipscombe appears on the mount with a date of 1876. The more commonly known maps by Frederick W Rose appeared in 1877 with the famous octupus representation of Russia and the ‘Angling in Troubled Waters’ map which appeared much later in 1899.The major European powers in the conflict are boldly caricatured and the map is filled with scores of interesting and humorous symbols. The Russian Bear, wearing the Imperial crown labelled Despotism, brandishes a cat-o-nine-tails whip as he marches towards Asia while looking over his shoulder to Europe. The bear’s left foot forms the Crimean peninsula where the French and English fleets gather to clip the bear’s claws. The Caucasus appear as a series of cork-exploding volcanoes (‘Cork As Us Mountains’), a reference to the perpetual political unrest in the region. In Europe, the Balkans appear in the form of a Turkey wearing a fez and clutching a bottle of port labelled Constantinople. France is depicted as the Imperial Eagle, a reference to Emperor Napoleon III, girded in a ceremonial sash. The British Isles take the form of an armed lion with Ireland a ragged peasant figure. An English fleet is shown entering the Gulf of Finland, a reference to the British Prime Minister’s use of gunboat diplomacy. Italy takes on the form of a running dog, wearing the papal crown. The double-headed eagle of Austria, looks both east and west, a reference to Austrian neutrality and clumsy attempts at diplomacy shown in a variety of notes tucked under the eagle’s wings and in its beaks. The other European countries form a variety of comical figures. The scale of miles is formed by a sword and balance scale depicting Russia on one side and The Allied Powers on the other. A printed example of this map was recently sold at Old World Auctions where it realised $3,750.