The success of the Large English Atlas from 1760 encouraged Emanuel Bowen and Thomas Kitchin to produce reduced-scale versions to cover the markets for medium and small-size atlases. The Royal English Atlas was published in c 1764 to target the medium-size market, and the Atlas Anglicanus followed for the small-scale market. Both copied the Large English Atlas in style, with rococo cartouches, and topographical notes surrounding the maps. The maps for the Atlas Anglicanus were first issued in monthly partworks between 1767 and 1768 before the complete atlas followed in 1768. Emanuel Bowen died in 1767, and his son Thomas took over the engraving of the remaining maps. Both Bowens are jointly cited as cartographers of the Middlesex map. Kitchin acted as publisher for the enterprise. There was a second edition of the atlas in c1777, before the plates passed to Carington Bowles and were updated and re-issued as Bowles' New Medium English Atlas in 1785. The Atlas Anglicanus was not a commercial success and maps from it are not commonly found.
This map first appeared in 1767 in the Atlas Anglicanus, published by Thomas Kitchin with maps engraved by Emanuel and Thomas Bowen. The maps copied the Large English Atlas in style, with rococo cartouches, and topographical notes surrounding the maps. The maps for the Atlas Anglicanus were first issued in monthly partworks between 1767 and 1768 before the complete atlas followed in 1768. Both Bowens are jointly cited as cartographers of the first state Shropshire map. There was a second edition of the atlas in c1777, before the plates passed to Carington Bowles and were updated and re-issued as Bowles' New Medium English Atlas in 1785. On Bowles' death the plates passed to his business successors, trading as Bowles and Carver, who re-issued the atlas sometime after 1793 with their own imprint as proprietors on individual maps. The Atlas Anglicanus was not a commercial success and maps from it are not commonly found. This example is from the atlas's final issue post 1793. Original colour.
The Royal English Atlas was probably an attempt to repeat the commercial success of The Large English Atlas, with a somewhat smaller format. The maps were again engraved by Kitchin and Bowen, and the partners in the enterprise were based around the consortium that had finally brought out The Large English Atlas in 1760. This time, however, they misjudged the market, and although there were some later re-issues of the atlas, the modern rarity of the maps suggests it was not very successful. This example is from the first edition, and is in original outline colour.