J. Senex Speculum Britanniae - Part 1 1723 (1593)
John Norden's Speculum Britanniae (Mirror of Britain) was conceived as a project to gradually cover the whole country with a series of books each covering the topography and history of individual counties. The first part to be issued was of Middlesex, published in 1593, with text and 3 maps engraved by Peter van den Keere. The maps were of Middlesex, and the cities of London and Westminster. Although Norden continued work on his project for the rest of his life, only a few further counties were actually published during his lifetime, probably due to a lack of support after the death of Lord Burghley who had sponsored his early efforts. The accuracy of his maps is attested by the fact that his successor John Speed preferred to follow Norden rather than Saxton where both choices were available to him. Norden's map of Middlesex is noteworthy as being the first county map to include the major roads - it would be a further 100 years before roads began to appear on most county maps. There were later editions of Part 1 of the Speculum issued in 1623 and 1655, and a new version in 1723 with newly engraved plates by John Senex closely following the original designs. This example of the Middlesex map is believed to be from the 1723 edition - a most uncommon item. Supplied mounted ready for framing.
J. Blaeu Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1645-72 (1645)
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. An excellent example in original colour and supplied in an attractive frame.
Jan Jansson was one of Amsterdam's leading 17th century mapmakers, and a close rival to the Blaeu family. His multi-volume world atlas first saw the introduction of 6 maps of individual English counties into the German edition of 1636, and a further 11 of English and Welsh counties in the Dutch edition of 1644. But when Jansson saw the 1645 Blaeu volume with more decorative maps covering all the English and Welsh counties, he felt obliged to revise his existing plates and complete the set in order to compete. His new volume covering England and Wales was first published in the 1646 Latin text edition of the Atlas Novus. In 1694 the printing plates were acquired by the Amsterdam firm of Schenk and Valk who made various revisions, and sold the maps singly or in composite atlases. This example, covering both Middlesex and Hertfordshire, bears the Schenk and Valck imprint, and has had a graticule of latitude and longitude added. Original full colour.
J. Ogilby An Actuall Survey of Middlesex c1730 (1672/3)
John Ogilby is best known for his road maps, titled Britannia, but this was intended as only part of a larger project to included an English county atlas. Only 3 maps for the county atlas were ever produced - Kent, Essex and Middlesex. Unusually, in an age of plagiarism, they were based on original surveys. The Middlesex map was engraved by Walter Binneman, and was first published in 1672-3. This example is the later re-issue by George Willdey who acquired the printing plates sometime after Ogilby's death in 1676, and would have sold the map as an individual item, and in composite atlases such as his edition of Saxton's atlas in c1730.A light water stain to the top-right corner, a repair to the lower centrefold and re-margined with minor restoration to the trimmed lower border. Still an attractive copy of a rare map.
This small county atlas of England and Wales was first issued in 1748 by a consortium of 7 publishers who also had a stake in the publication of Daniel Defoe's Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain. It was advertised as a companion volume to Defoe's work, or as a pocket atlas in its own right. Thomas Hutchinson's name appears as the engraver on 2 maps, but the rest are unsigned and may be by a variety of hands. They are sometimes also known as Osborne/Wale maps. There was a second edition in 1756. Modern colour.
T. Kitchin The Antiquities of England and Wales c1789 (1748)
This map was first published in the March 1748 edition of the London Magazine, which between 1747 and 1754 issued a complete set of English county maps by Thomas Kitchin. The maps were later re-published by Alexander Hogg in Boswell's Antiquities of England & Wales, initially in partwork from c 1787-9, and then in several complete editions of the work up to 1798. This example of the Middlesex map is from the first complete edition of Boswell's Antiquities dating from c1789.
Antonio Zatta was a Venetian publisher and his world atlas, the Atlante Novissimo (New Atlas) was his greatest claim to fame. It was issued in 4 volumes between the years 1779 and 1785, each volume bearing a different date. The work contained maps of just 4 English counties - Surry, Kent, Essex and Middlesex - which all appeared in Volume I, issued in 1779. They were drawn by G. Petteri and engraved by G. Zuliani, and are generally found, as here, with sparse original colour. Uncommon.
J. Cary Camden's Britannia 1806 (1789)
Camden's Britannia was first published in 1586. County maps by Kip and Hole were first added in 1607, being supplanted by those of Robert Morden for the 5 editions from 1695 to 1772. In 1789 a new translation of the work by Richard Gough was published by T. Payne and G. & J. Robinson with updated and modernised maps by John Cary. The same maps were also later used in Cary's New British Atlas of 1805. They can be found uncoloured, with outline colour and with full wash colour. This example is from the second Gough edition of Britannia, published in 1806, and the maps are in full wash colour - the most desirable state.
John Aikin (or Aiken) wrote this topographical work for children in order "to make my young countrymen better acquainted than they are usually found to be with their native land". The first edition of 1788 did not include county maps, but these were added for the second edition of 1790, from which this example comes. The work was published by Joseph Johnson, but the maps are unsigned. There were four later editions of the book with the maps, and one without. The Middlesex map is fairly simple, befitting the needs of its target audience, and the text may be available at no extra charge.
B. Capper Topographical Dictionary of the UK 1808
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.
J. Cary New English Atlas 1811 (1809)
It is suprising that Cary's large county atlas was issued as late as 1809, as individual maps from it seem to have been sold singly from 1801. The atlas format was perhaps to compete with the similarly sized atlas of Charles Smith, which went under the same title and was published in 1804. It is perhaps Cary's finest production, the maps being notable for their fine design, detail and engraving. The atlas ran to several later editions by Cary, and the plates were later used for a variety of lithographic transfers by G.F. Cruchley. This example is from the second edition of 1811, and is in original full colour. Repaired tear to centrefold.
A. Perrot L'Angleterre, ou Description Historique et Topographique du Royaume de la Grande-Bretagne 1824-35
The text for this French topographical work on Britain was written by George Depping, the maps being drawn by Aristide Perrot and engraved by A. Migneret. It was first published in 1824, with subsequent editions in 1828 and 1835. The maps often cover more than one county, but Middlesex gets a map to itself. The surrounding decorative border shows the typical produce and wares of the counties. Original outline colour.
Original full colour. Repair to bottom centrefold. The Greenwoods surveyed all the counties from 1817-33 for their beautifully engraved county atlas finally published in 1834. Maps were also sold singly as produced. The Middlesex map is corrected to 1829, and this example was sold in atlas format.
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.
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 later editions of Barclay's Dictionary (in which the vignette of Westminster bridge is re-engraved to add the new Houses of Parliament). Supplied mounted and ready for framing.
J. Duncan A Complete County Atlas of England and Wales 1840-45 (1825)
Coloured. These maps were first published in 1825, and probably sold singly. In 1833 they were re-published by James Duncan in a thematic atlas to illustrate the representative changes brought about by the 1832 Reform Act. There were later re-issues in 1840 and 1845 with the addition of railways, and this map dates from one of these editions. A little light offsetting.
A. Fullarton Bell's New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales 1833-37
These maps were first published by Fullarton and Co. in 1833 in James Bell's New and Comprehensive Gazetteer of England and Wales which was re-issued three times in 1834, 1836 and 1837. They were subsequently re-published (again by Fullarton) in 1840 in The Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales, with several further re-issues up to 1849. The maps were engraved on steel and sometimes bear the name of the engraver and sometimes not. This example is from Bell's Gazetteer and bears the signature of R. Scott as engraver. Supplied mounted and ready for framing.
T. Murray An Atlas of the English Counties 1830
Maps for Murray's atlas were copied from those of William Ebden published from 1825-8, and were engraved by the same firm of Hoare & Reeves. Repairs to several marginal nicks, one just impinging the top border.
This map was engraved by J. & C. Walker and first appeared in their British Atlas of 1835. Lithographic transfers were later taken for Hobson's Fox Hunting Atlas, and in 1884 for Letts Popular County Atlas. Repairs to centrefold tears.
C. Smith New English Atlas (reduced maps) 1828 or 1833 (1822)
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.
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 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 1830 second edition of Teesdale's atlas. Original wash colour. A couple of short, repaired, marginal tears, not affecting the printed area.
R. Dawson Plans of the Cities and Boroughs of England and Wales…..together with Outline Maps showing the Divisions of Counties… 1832
This lithographed map formed part of a Parliamentary Report showing proposed changes to electoral arrangements and boundaries which were subsequently enacted in the 1832 Reform Act. Parliament subsequently ordered the plans be published to the public at large, which was done the same year. Dawson was a Lieutenant in the Royal Engineers charged with survey and production of maps to illustrate the changes.Original colour.
J. Lodge Untitled Atlas of the English Counties c1796
This was one of a set of county maps engraved by John Lodge and issued between 1787 and 1790 in The Political Magazine, and Parliamentary, Naval, Military and Literary Journal, published initially by John Murray, and later by R. Butters. The maps were subsequently collected together and re-issued as an atlas (without title page) around 1795. For this atlas edition the imprint with the publication date and engraver's and publisher's signatures was removed from the maps. This example is from the atlas edition. The maps are well engraved in the plainer style then coming into vogue. They are uncommon, and sought by collectors. Modern colour.
James Wallis's New British Atlas was first published in 1813 by S.A. Oddy. There was a second edition in 1816. This example is from the first edition and is dated 1812 on the imprint. It is in attractive, original, full wash colour, and in good condition. Supplied mounted and ready for framing.
S. Hall A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland 1831
Old folds and lack of railway information support an attribution of this map to its first issue in 1831 in A Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton. The map, with various amendments, later appeared in several other works including Hall's New British Atlas (1833-36) and A Travelling County Atlas (1842-1875).
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 bear various dates between 1816 and 1821. This Middlesex map is dated 1820. The maps are in attractive and original full wash colour, and are relatively scarce. Slight overall toning.
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.
Over the first decades of the 19th century, Samuel Neele engraved a number of maps for the Encyclopaedia Londinensis which was published serially. A number of these maps state specifically in the imprint that they were engraved for the Encyclopaedia. Though no such statement appears on the Middlesex map the named publisher is Adlard & Co.who published the work, and the address is that of the Encyclopaedia's office. An unprepossessing little map but not commonly found - one for the collector.
Miller's miniature county atlas was undated, but issued in c 1821. There were re-issues in c 1822 and 1825 under the imprints of William Darton, who presumably bought the publishing rights from Miller. This example is from the first edition by Miller. An uncommon map.
R. Whitworth Plan of the Intended Navigable Canal from Moor Fields into the River Lee at Waltham Abby c1773
This map was commissioned by the City of London, and surveyed by Robert Whitworth. It shows the proposed course of the new canal, the old River Lea, the so-called "New River", and something of the surrounding countryside.
E. Bowen The General Magazine of Arts and Sciences/The Natural History of England 1757
This map first appeared in the January 1757 number of Benjamin Martin's General Magazine of Arts and Sciences, a monthly partwork which between 1755 and 1762 included a series of county maps. The magazine's format was novel, each issue covering 5 (later 6) subject areas. The intention was that all those parts relating to any one subject could later be rebound into subject volumes, for which individual title pages would be issued. In 1763 title pages for a two volume set were issued for those parts relating to natural history. Subscribers could then, if so desired, rebind their original partworks, and new purchasers could purchase the completed work under the title, The Natural History of England. There were no later re-issues and the maps are today not common.
The Comprehensive Gazetteer was edited by J. Brabner and published by W. Mackenzie. Weller's map was printed by lithographic transfer for it's first and only edition in c1894. Original printed colour.