A map of all of Asia, including eastern Europe, the Middle East, China, India, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and the northern coastline of Australia.

'Plate number 58 from 'Stielers Handatlas'. The leading periodical of discovery in Germany was the 'Geophische Mitteilungen Institut' in Gotha, published by the firm of Justus Perthes under the professional control of Augustus Petermann. The standard atlas produced by Perthes was 'Stielers Handatlas'. This atlas was revised frequently, with new discoveries often published within twelve months.

The mapmaker
Augustus Petermann (1822-1878) was an "important figure in the second half of the nineteenth century as a geographer and promoter of exploration, with an island and mountain range in Antarctica named for him by German explorers. He became director of the Geographical Institute of Justus Perthes in Gotha in 1855, with direct access to the publishing house, influencing publication of a series of detailed maps of Antarctica. He founded a geographical periodical 'Petermann's Mittheilungen' which for 24 years published the latest information on discovery" (Clancy).