Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. A New Edition, corrected to the Present Time
London, Charles Knight & Co., 1845, 1846 and 1847 (New Edition).
Large quarto (445 × 375 mm), three volumes bound as one, Volume 1: [vi] pages plus [76] maps (2 folding); Volume 2: [iv] pages plus [86] maps (3 folding); [viii, 39 (index)] pages plus 51 city plans and 6 celestial maps. All three parts have separate title leaves, as does the group of star charts; all maps and plans are printed recto only, but some are arranged facing each other, so they appear double-page; many have inset maps or vignette illustrations.
Early half morocco and sand-grain cloth, with the ticket 'Bound by W.K. Thomas & Co., Register Office, Adelaide'; spine lettered in gilt; gilt morocco label on the front cover; covers a little worn and marked; some maps a slightly foxed or tanned, but generally clean; a few short closed tears to two maps; general map of Asia with a route drawn on in purple pencil; a few other minor signs of age and use; an excellent copy.
The 219 hand-coloured engraved maps, city plans and star charts that comprise this fine atlas were issued in parts by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge between 1829 and 1844, under various imprints (including Chapman and Hall, and Baldwin and Cradock). However, the 'map plates had a much longer life than did the Society itself. [Charles] Knight purchased the plates from the Society in January 1846 for £4500, and he continued to publish maps and atlases compiled from the maps until 1852. In 1847, he completed a revision of the maps that the Society had started in 1844. Although the plates had been repeatedly corrected and revised while the Series progressed, Knight's work on the maps was the first systematic revision' (Mead T. Cain: 'The Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge: A Publishing History', in 'Imago Mundi', Volume 46, 1994, pages 151-167). This example is from Knight's revised edition. The map of Australia, for instance, has the updated title 'Australia in 1846' (Tooley 1149, with Lake Torrens added), and many of the maps are explicitly updated to the year of publication of the section in which they are found.
Item #131453
Price (AUD):
$15,000.00