One of the most accurate map of Afghanistan and surrounding countries published to date.

The map provides the most detailed depiction of the theatre of the First Anglo-Afghan War, and is based on the latest surveys by the likes of John Wood (1812-1871), who explored the Indus in 1835, publishing his book 'Voyage up the Indus and Source of the River Oxus' in 1841, and R. Leech (1813-1845), engineer and linguist, whose published works include: 'A grammar of the Panjábee language' (1838), 'Vocabularies of seven languages, spoken in the countries west of the Indus' (1838), and 'Grammar of the Pashtoo or Afghanee language' (1839).

The map was published a mere four months after the disastrous retreat from Kabul, when a column of 16,000 soldiers, and civilians succumbed to disease, exposure, and enemy action. Only one soldier Assistant Surgeon William Brydon, and a handful of Indian sepoys reached Jalalabad. It would be seen as the worst British military defeat until the fall of Singapore some 100 years later.

William Houghton Allen (1787-1873) established the booksellers and publishers W.H. Allen & Co., based in Leadenhall Street. In one iteration or another, the company would exist until 1991.