Copperplate

In c1689 Philip Lea published a new edition of Saxton's atlas, the plates being much revised to include roads and town plans. Lea's plates were acquired by George Wildey in 1730 who added his own imprint and sold the maps singly or in atlas format. The Saxton map originally covered the 5 counties of Northants, Beds, Hunts. Rutland and Cambridge. Lea's revisions obliterated much of Cambridgeshire, and Wildey had to have a new map of this county engraved for the atlas. Old colour. A very good example of this most desirable and scarce map.G. Wildey imprint.

The Blaeu family were one of the leading Dutch map producers of the 17th century. Their major work was a multi volume world atlas initiated by Willem Blaeu and expanded by his son Joan. Their maps were beautifully designed and engraved, and are often found with original colour, making them most desirable to collectors. 1645 saw the first publication of volume 4 of the atlas, containing maps of England and Wales. There were several re-issues between then and 1672 when most of Blaeu's plates were lost in a fire which engulfed his Amsterdam premises. The Latin text to the verso dates this example to the editions of 1645, 1648, or 1662. Original colour.

Britannia Depicta was one of 3 pocket-sized reductions of Ogilby's road book that appeared within an 18 month timeframe between 1719 and 1720. It was more innovative than the others in including much additional topographical and historical information (researched by John Owen) on the maps. The work was a commercial success and ran to many later editions.

England Illustrated was a topographical work on England and Wales published in 2 volumes by R. and J. Dodsley in 1763. The work included a set of English and Welsh county maps drawn and engraved by Thomas Kitchin. These were republished without the text as Kitchin's English Atlas in 1765. An ex-library blind stamp.

Harrison's atlas was first published in 1791, but maps were engraved and dated between 1787 and 1791, and may have been sold singly as completed. Huntingdonshire is dated 1788, and bears the signatures of Haywood and Sudlow as cartographer and engraver respectively. There were later editions of the atlas in 1792 and c1815. a small marginal tear not affecting the image.

Benjamin Pitts Capper was the author of this topographical directory, first published by R. Phillips in 1808. The maps were engraved, and possibly drawn by H. Cooper. Later editions of the work carry the imprint of G.and W.B. Whittaker who re-published the book from 1825-34. This example is from the first edition of 1808, with the hundreds shown in original, full wash colour.

In 1822 Charles Smith issued a county atlas with maps based on his larger county maps which had been in circulation for over 20 years. The new maps were smaller in scale, but the atlas bore the same title as that in which his larger maps appeared. They are clearly drawn and engraved, but although there were several editions of the atlas, they are today amongst the rarer of the 18th century county maps. This example is from the edition of 1828 or 1833, in which the maps have no date in the imprint, but before railways were added for the edition of 1844. Original outline colour.

This map by Sidney Hall was first published in 1831 in A Topgraphical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. This example is from a later re-issue in Hall's Travelling County Atlas, which first came out in 1842 and ran to several editions until 1855. The imprint address and railways here shown suggest a date between 1852 and 1855. Original outline colour. Browning to centrefold.

Thomas Moule's antiquarian leanings are evident in this series of highly decorative county maps - a stylistic throwback in an age when cartographic work had become much plainer and more utilitarian. The maps were engraved by W. Smollinger, J. Bingley and J. Dower, and first appeared in Moule's English Counties Delineated, a partwork with text issued from 1830-32. They were subsequently made available as a complete work in 1837 under the same title, and were later re-issued in Barclay's Universal English Dictionary between 1842 and 1852. This latter work ran to several editions and the maps were often updated between editions to show the latest growth of the railway network. This example, in modern colour, is from one of the atlas editions between 1837 and 1839. Supplied mounted and ready to frame.

This detailed and well engraved map was one of a set first published around 1812-14 by Robert Rowe, who was probably also their draftsman and engraver. The maps were initially sold singly in folding format until their collective issue in 1816 as The English Atlas. The plates were later acquired by Henry Teesdale, who amended titles and imprints and re-issued the work as the New British Atlas in 1829, with several re-issues up to 1842. The plates were later acquired and used by H.G. Collins and then by G. Philip and Son, who both used them as the base for lithographic transfers for a variety of works up to c1860. This example is from the 1816 first (and only) edition of The English Atlas issued by Rowe, and is much rarer than the later issues by Teesdale, Collins or Philip. Original colour.

Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of England was first published in 1831, and ran to several editions up to 1849, with the county maps bound into a separate atlas volume. The maps were drawn by R. Creighton and engraved by J.& C. Walker. This example dates from 1840 onwards, when the boundaries of the Poor Law Unions were added to the maps. Original outline colour.

The ninth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica in 1887 included a set of county maps drawn and engraved by Bartholomew & Co. and printed by lithographic transfer. The maps were subsequently updated for the re-issues of the Encyclopaedia in 1892 and 1887/99, but for the latter issue the Bartholomew signature is replaced by that of W.& A.K. Johnston, as in this example of the map of Cambridgeshire & Huntingdonshire.

This work was published in 1835 as a companion volume to Lewis's Topographic Dictionary. It contains county and borough maps, drawn by R. Creighton and engaved by J.& C. Walker, and was designed to show the electoral and boundary changes effected by the 1832 Reform Act. There were 2 issues of the work in 1835 and 1840, this example of the county map being from the 1835 first edition. Original outline colour.

Lett's Popular County Atlas has its roots in Walkers British Atlas, first published in 1835. From around 1849 onwards lithographic transfers were taken from the intaglio plates, firstly for the Hobson/Walker foxhunting atlases, and then in 1884 for this new county atlas under the Lett's branding. The maps inderwent various modifications and additions, and were also overprinted to produce colours in green, yellow, pink, blue and red. There was a further edition of the atlas in 1887, with some further changes to the maps, and, although still under the Letts branding, now published by Mason & Payne who had taken over the Letts business. Maps were also sold singly, dissected on linen, and folding into card covers. This example is from the 1887 edition of the atlas.

Pinnock's Guide to Knowledge was a serialised partwork which included a series of county and other maps by Joshua Archer. The maps are most unusual in being printed by a relief process from wood blocks so the lettering and detail is shown as white out of black. This Huntingdonshire map was included in volume XLIV issued in March 1833.

From 1858-60 the Weekly Dispatch Newspaper issued a series of county and other maps, including this one of Huntingdonshire (issued 1859). The maps were subsequently re-published in 1863 as a complete atlas titled The Dispatch Atlas. In that same year Cassell, Fetter and Galpin purchased the printing plates, and re-issued the maps in various formats. This example is from Cassell's British Atlas of 1867. By 1869 the plates had been acquired by G.W.Bacon and Co. who continued to use them in their atlases for a further 30 years. Original outline colour. Some repaired marginal tears, not imoinging the printed area.

James Wallis engraved and published this set of small maps under the title stated, which was first issued in c1812. This example is from the atlas's second edition of c1814, so distinguished by the addition of a plate number to the maps. There were later editions of the work between 1818 and 1836 inder the titles of Martin's Sportsman's Almanack, Kalender, and Traveller's Guide, and subsequently as Lewis's New Traveller's Guide. For both these latter issues the map imprints were changed.

The 1888 report of the Local Government Boundary Commission proposed a number of changes to local jurisdictions, transferring many parishes out of their existing counties to adjoining counties. The Report, with supporting maps by Robert Owen Jones, was submitted to Parliament, which ordered its publication. Although the proposals often reflected a sensible "tidying up", local opposition ensured that many were not implemented.

Thomas Dix initiated this atlas project some time around 1816, but after his death it was carried on to completion by the publisher William Darton. The Atlas was issued in 1822, though individual maps from the first edition bear various dates between 1816 and 1821. Apart from the atlas format the maps were also sold individually, usually dissected and linen-backed and folding into boards. This example is unusual. It is an early issue, dated 1819, and is linen-backed but not dissected. It would appear to have been sold singly, and although there are old, probably original folds, there is no sign of boards. It was purchased with six other Dix county maps similarly presented, one of which bears the manuscript signature of J. Walker and the date 13th Jan 1825. The set were of contiguous eastern counties, and may have been bought by Mr Walker to assist his travels in this area. As is usually the case, the map is in attractive and original full wash colour, and all editions are relatively scarce. A light-brown waterstain to the lower few centimetres of the map.

First published 1769 in Kitchin's Pocket Atlas, which was based on the novel concept of drawing all the county maps to a common scale. Whilst this provided a better illustation of counties' relative sizes, it meant that the overall sizes of the maps varied considerably. Smaller maps shared pages where this was practical within an alphabetical county arrangement, Huntingdonshire appearing on the same page as the map of Hertfordshire. The atlas was not commercially successful and Kitchin issued no further editions, although the plates were later acquired by Carington Bowles who re-issued the work as Bowles's Pocket Atlas around 1778. This example is from the latter work. Today maps from either atlas are quite scarce.

Morden's set of smaller maps may originally have been drawn and engraved for Camden's Britannia, but rejected as too small. They were first published in 1701 in The New Description and State of England. This example is from Magna Britannia et Hibernia, originally issued as a 92 part topographical work between 1714 and 1731, but gradually also made available in 6 finished, bound volumes. The text and map of Huntingdonshire first appeared in 1718, but further editions were issued up to 1739 with the maps unchanged. Modern colour. Supplied mounted.