This map is part of the great Quartermaster’s Map. It is known as this because of the general title referring to its usefulness to ‘all Comanders for Quarteringe of Souldiers, & all sorts of Persons, that would be informed, Where the Armies be; never so Commodiously drawne before this. 1644’. It was as stated used widely during the English Civil War, particularly by the Parliamentarians with whom the publisher Thomas Jenner’s sympathies lay. Jenner (fl. c.1618-73, d.1673) was a print and mapseller who set up in business at the White Bear in Cornhill about 1618. Until the impending Civil War Jenner was not known for cartographic material. Then in 1643 he published a revised edition of the 'Direction for the English Traviller' whose plates he had acquired from his printer Matthew Simmons. Jenner had timed his move perfectly. Demand for maps and tools to help the large numbers of people moving about the country at the time of the Civil War was on the increase. The market for the little atlas clearly proved so great that he was attracted to do more. He engaged the services of the noted engraver Wenceslaus Hollar to etch a reduction of Christopher Saxton’s great wall map of 1583. This would enable his customers to have a more detailed and yet still portable map of England and Wales.Hollar (1607-77) is described by Pennington in glowing terms: ‘Of all etchers, Hollar is certainly the most varied in subject, one of the most accomplished in technique, and with a style that is full of a charm, a humour, and a good nature that are evidently the character of the man himself’. He was born in Prague and made his way to England in the party of Lord Arundel arriving in London in late December 1636. By 1644 Hollar had already done some work for Jenner which included working on at least two of the re-engraved plates for the 'Direction for the English Traviller' published in 1643. The published history of the Quartermaster’s Map is long and complicated extending to 1824. Its earliest form is that which bears the date 1644 on the title. The plates were then acquired by John Garrett who issued the third edition in 1675. It was revised almost immediately in to a fourth edition the following year. In 1688 single line roads were added to those double-lined which had only just been introduced. It is this edition from which this plate comes. It is the fourth state of this particular plate which covers East Anglia and much of the midlands. Harley & Skelton (1972); Pennington (1982) 652-7; Shirley (1980) no. 537; Wing H2447.

The plates for this VERY RARE atlas are by Joshua Archer (1792?-1863) and were first published in William Pinnock’s ‘Guide to Knowledge’, 1833. Archer was declared bankrupt shortly after in 1835 and was in prison for debt again in 1845. What is unusual about the plates for this period is that they were produced using woodblocks and printed directly resulting in a map which is white on black. The process of lithographic transfer was used for Thomas Johnson’s atlas offered here. This preserves the original block or plate from excessive wear and allows an extended life. A Thomas Johnson is recorded as being a bookseller, stationer, bookbinder, printer and publisher in Liverpool between 1833-43. This is possibly the same Johnson as our publisher after a move to Manchester. For this atlas, the existence of some of the early railways is recorded. One further edition appeared in 1863 surviving in just two known examples. Provenance: manuscript annotation on front endpaper 'Stephen James Adams 1850'; private English collection. Carroll (1996) no. 98; Chubb (1927) no. 523; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).

The plates for this VERY RARE atlas are by Joshua Archer (1792?-1863) and were first published in William Pinnock’s Guide to Knowledge, 1833. What is unusual about them for this period is that they were produced using woodblocks. The maps were the work of Joshua Archer (1792?-1863) and Selena Hall (fl.1831-53, the widow of the engraver Sidney Hall). Archer was declared bankrupt shortly after in 1835 and was in prison for debt again in 1845. Here the process used by Thomas Johnson for the Atlas of England, published in Manchester in 1847, is a lithographic transfer. A Thomas Johnson is recorded as being a bookseller, stationer, bookbinder, printer and publisher in Liverpool between 1833-43. This is possibly the same Johnson as our publisher after a move to Manchester. Lithography preserves the original block or plate from excessive wear and allows an extended life. For this atlas the existence of some of the early railways is recorded. One further edition appeared in 1863 surviving in just two known examples. Provenance: William and Victoria Dailey, Los Angeles; Bernard Quaritch Ltd (pencil collation inscription on final free endpaper, 1984); private English collection; Clive A. Burden Ltd. Catalogue V (2010) item 43; private English collection. Carroll (1996) no. 98; Chubb (1927) no. 523; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).

The map for this VERY RARE edition is by Joshua Archer (1792?-1863) and was first published in William Pinnock’s ‘Guide to Knowledge’, 1833. Archer was declared bankrupt shortly after in 1835 and was in prison for debt again in 1845. What is unusual about the plates for this period is that they were produced using woodblocks and printed directly resulting in a map which is white on black. The process of lithographic transfer was used by Thomas Johnson for the map offered here. This preserves the original block or plate from excessive wear and allows an extended life. A Thomas Johnson is recorded as being a bookseller, stationer, bookbinder, printer and publisher in Liverpool between 1833-43. This is possibly the same Johnson as our publisher after a move to Manchester. The existence of some of the early railways is recorded. One further edition appeared in 1863 surviving in just two known examples. It is from this extremely rare last edition that this plate derives. Carroll (1996) no. 98; Chubb (1927) no. 523; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).

The successful firm of W. & A. K. Johnston was founded by Sir William Johnston and was based in Edinburgh from 1825. The following year he was joined by his brother Alexander Keith Johnston. This fascinating atlas provides statistics about the Educational Condition of the People, Industrial Condition, Criminal Condition, Pauper Condition, Military and Naval etc. Shirley (2000) 'Berghaus and Johnston: Pioneers of the Thematic Atlas', in IMCoS Journal no. 83 pp. 31-5; Smith (2000); Smith (2001).

Francois Gerard Jollain (1660-c.1735) was an engraver and printseller in Paris. He was part of a family of engravers, map and printsellers. He was the son of Gerard Jollain (d.1683). Beneath the title of this rare work is written 'par Gaspard Powell ingenieur dans larmee du Roy dangleterre et mis au jour en 1689'. This type of print whereby rows of topographical images are displayed is extremely rare but not unknown at the time. Peter Stent's Catalogue of 1653 refers to 'All the Cities of England in small'. It is only known by one example of a second state by John Overton which is bound into another work at the Ashmolean Library, Oxford. These complemented the fashion at the time for 'carte et figures', or maps with decorative illustrated borders.The title here alludes to the artist, one Gaspard Powell, and engineer in the Royal army in 1689. The claim is that he drew all the images on location himself. Two rows each are devoted to images of England, Scotland and Ireland. Tooley's Dictionary records the existence of a 'Carte des Isles Britanniques' by the same Jollain issued in the same year. There is only one recorded example of the map. Its dimensions are not dissimilar and it does not bear any surrounding views. It could be seen that the two plates were complimentary. The general map states that it was the work of 'L. de Pontigny', geographer to the King. It is interestingly dedicated to the Prince of Wales who would later become known as the Old Pretender in the first Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. It was his birth on 10 June 1688 which largely triggered the Glorious Revolution which overthrew James II in favour of the Protestant William III. They were no doubt issued to mark the attempt invasion of James II of Ireland Ireland from France. Francois Jollain (1641-1704), who is likely in some way related, also published a general map of the British Isles in the same year 1689. This one does contain several town views, all unrelated, and is similarly extremely rare, surviving in just three known examples. Provenance: private English collection since c.1990. Globe p.229 & no. 361-2; Griffiths (1998) p. 191; Tooley's Dictionary (1999-2004).

The Recueil de Divers Voyages is a compilation of travel works translated by Henri Justel (1620-93). A rare work it comprised accounts not seen in print before with translations of five key English ones. A French Protestant, scholar and book collector, Justel was the secretary to Louis XIV. He left France for England in 1681 before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. He was given the position of Keeper of the King’s Library at St. James’s Palace by Charles II. The book includes accounts of Africa and America and the order in which these are found often varies. The following is a list of those included, each with its own half title:1 - Richard Ligon, 'Histoire de l'isle des Barbades', first published 1657.2 - Baltasar Telles, 'Extrait de l'histoire d'Ethiopie', first published in Lisbon in 1660Jeromyno Lobo, 'Relation de la riviere du Nil', first published 1669.3 - Antonio d'Almeyda, 'Description de l'Empire du Prete-Jean', 4 - 'Relation du voyage fait sur les costes d'Afrique aux mois de Novembre & Decembre de l'année 1670. Janvier & Février 1671. commençant au Cap Verd'.5 - De la Borde, 'Relation de l'origine, moeurs, coustumes religion, guerres et voyages des Caraibes, sauvages des isles Antilles de l'Amerique faite par le sieur De la Borde'.6 - 'Relation de la Guiane'.7 - Richard BLOME, Description de l'isle de la Jamaique' first published in London, 1672.8 - 'Relation de l'isle des Barbades'.9 - 'Colonies Angloises'.Of these accounts of de la Borde in the Caribbean and Guaine are published for the first time. There is a translation of Richard Ligon’s Barbados first published in 1657. Settled by the English in 1625 it exploded with 44,000 settlers by 1650, nearly four times that in Virginia and twice that of New England. The account includes a fine folding map of the island with large inset of the south east and the Caribbean engraved by Michault. Richard Blome’s ‘Description of the Island of Jamaica’ first published around Easter 1673, is also present. ‘To illustrate it he included a map that is drawn directly from the first state of the Blome and engraved by René Michault who is known to have worked for Pierre Duval and Nicolas Sanson. The only difference being the addition of a few French translations of English nomenclature’ (Burden). The island is depicted just 18 years before the disastrous earthquake at Port Royal in 1692 which destroyed the town. The English work was supported by the Governor of Jamaica and Thomas Modyford, owner of large amounts of land on the island.The final section with the half title ‘Colonies Angloises’ includes a fine map of the English colonies in North America stretching from Cape Henry in the south to Port Royal in Nova Scotia. ‘To illustrate it he included a map that is drawn directly from the first state of the Blome and engraved by René Michault. The only difference being the addition of a few French translations of English nomenclature … There was a second edition published by the widow of A. Cellier in 1684. It, too, contained this map in an identical state. Provenance: Le Bail-Weissert, May 2001; private English collection. Atabey 527; Baer (1949) nos. 78 & 111; Blackmer 750; Burden (2007) nos. 439 & 440; McCorkle (2001) no. 674.1; The A. E. Nordenskiöld Collection no. 642; Sabin (1868) 36944.

Engelbert Kaempfer's 'History of Japan' was originally written in German. Kaempfer was a physician in Japan at the Dutch post of Dejima between the years 1690 and 1692. Shirley BL G.Kaem 1a.

Engelbert Kaempfer's 'History of Japan' was originally written in German. Kaempfer was a physician in Japan at the Dutch post of Dejima between the years 1690 and 1692. Shirley BL G.Kaem 1a.

Engelbert Kaempfer's 'History of Japan' was originally written in German. Kaempfer was a physician in Japan at the Dutch post of Dejima between the years 1690 and 1692. Shirley BL G.Kaem 1a.