John Cary (c.1754-1835) and descendants were possibly the most prolific publishers of cartography around the turn of the nineteenth century. Cary is noted for the clarity of detail in his maps and was the first to use the Greenwich meridian. He had already published road books; his first publication is one showing the roads between London and Falmouth, 1784. For this work the large scale of one inch to the mile allowed John Cary to include a great deal of detail including local side roads. As the title describes 'every seat thereon, with the name of the Possessor ... to which is added, An Index of all the Names contained in the Plates'. Each individual building is detailed. The small format allowed a broader sale as it fitted nicely into the pocket. A very useful tool even for researchers today. Twenty eight of the fifty plates were first published on 1 January 1786 as Cary's Actual Survey of Middlesex. The first edition of this expanded work with 50 plates is dated 20 June 1786. This is the second updated edition of 1800. Those few plates which bore 1786 dates have here been altered to 15 August 1800. Effort has been made to correct ownership details of the properties illustrated. The book is still available at the same price 'Price 8s. sewed' as shown on the title page, however the address is altered from 188 Strand to 181 Strand, London. He moved to this address in 1791. The only other alteration is to the Index which is entirely reset now in three columns per page and now in only 13 pages. One further edition was issued in 1811. Provenance: unidentified bookplate with motto 'Prodesse' pasted inside front cover; private English collection. Beresiner (1983) pp. 80-2; Darlington & Howgego (1964) 183.1; ESTC N26951; Fordham (1925a) pp. 22-3; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).