22 Robert Morden 1701

 

Robert Morden possibly engraved this series of maps in 1693 for inclusion in the Britannia but rejected them as too small. The greater inaccuracy when compared with his later map (21) is one reason for assuming this map was produced earlier.1 The 1708 edition was intended as a road book (with A table of the Roads) with maps revised by Moll (25, including his upside-down directions).

Also in 1708 John Nicholson started to compile a new compleat system of geography, the Atlas Geographicus but decided with John Morphew to publish Britain separately as Magna Britannia et Hibernia. Published in 92 parts starting in 1714, Devon appeared in Sept/Nov 1716 in Nos 11 & 12. Thomas Cox, publisher, acquired the publication in 1724 and completed the work in 1731. Individual counties could be bound separately (sometimes lacking title page).2 From advertisements in newspapers it seems that Rev. Anthony Hall (1679-1723) of Queen’s College, Oxford, was the compiler, basing the text on Camden but supplementing it with local information and including Norden’s mileage table as used by Jenner (after Simons). Counties were sold separately, possibly to clear stocks, but each usually with a new title page: eg A Compleat History of Devonshire ... Printed by E & R Nutt and sold by T Cox Cornhill MDCCXXX.

Cox sold the entire work to Caesar Ward and Richard Chandler who corrected the title, omitting the reference to Ireland. Variants were issued by Ward and Chandler (eg BL and E copies below) with differing title pages as late as 1745. Individual counties were sold with the old title page with a pasted slip over the Cox imprint3; Chandler died in 1744 and Ward became bankrupt in 1745.

 

Size 175 x 215 mm.                                                                                       A Scale of 10 Miles - Great, Midle and Smal (30, 28 & 27 mm).

 DEVON SHIRE by Robt Morden. No compass. 

 

1. 1701  The New Description and State of England      
    London. Robert Morden, Thos Cockerill and Ralph Smith. 1701.4   CXXIV, H123, BL, RGS, B; CB.
       
    The New Description and State of England. The Second Edition  
    London. S and J Sprint, J Nicholson, and S Burroughs; A Bell and R Smith. 1704.  CXXV, H125, BL, C.
       
    The New Description and State of England. The Second Edition (quarto edition)  
    London. R Morden, A Bell and R Sith. 1704. H126, B, CB.
       
    The New Description and State of England  The Second Edition  
    London. R Smith. 1704. AY.5
       
2. 1708  Main roads double-lined and new roads added (eg Dartmouth-Newton Bushel). Compass (Dd).  
     Directions added outside the county (to London at Ford), also upside-down in Cornwall. Towns added, eg Beare Alston and Dodbrook.  
       
    Fifty Six New and Accurate Maps ... Begun by Mr Morden: Perfected ... by Mr Moll  
    London. John Nicholson, John Sprint, Andrew Bell and Ralph Smith. 1708 CXXVI, H127, BL, RGS, B.
       
    Magna Britannia et Hibernia Antiqua et Nova ... Mr Cambden (in parts)  
    London. John Morphew. 1716.  H128, BCL.
       
    Devonshire (no title page; pages 465-546 of complete work)  
    (London. John Morphew. 1716.)      E.
       
    Magna Britannia et Hibernia Vol. 1  
    London. M Nutt and J Morphew. 1720. CXXVII, H128, B, RGS.
       
    Magna Britannia Antiqua et Nova  
    London. Caesar Ward and R Chandler. 1738 (1739).                   CXXVIII, H129, BL, CB, E.
       

[1] Note, for example, Bishops and Kings Staunton not Steighnton; and Saltashtok not the more modern Saltash.

[2] Volumes for Devon are known with and without the mileage sheet and with text: present parliament 1716.

[3] Counties were being sold off at the end of the century with dubious title pages, eg A Topo-graphical Ecclesiastical And Natural History of  [blank] ... by Thomas Cox. In the Savoy: sold by M Nutt ... with text.

[4] The atlas is usually found in octavo form at this time (quarto became common after 1704) but the Burdens have a quarto example of this issue.

[5] This is presumably the copy reported by Carroll (for example) in Printed Maps of Lincolnshire (see footnote 16, page 67). Our thanks to Alan Yates for bringing this example to our attention.