Decorative Printed Maps of the 15th to 18th Centuries

London: Staples Press, 1952. Near Fine condition in a Fair dust jacket (rubbing, chips, tears). Protected by a removable Brodart clear-plastic sleeve. NOT a library discard. NO owner's name or bookplate. Pages are clean, crisp and unmarked. First Edition Thus. Many collectors prefer the large format (9.75" wide by 12.5" tall) of this 1952 first impression over the smaller size of later printings. "First published 1952" is so stated. This is a revised and enlarged edition of OLD DECORATIVE MAPS AND CHARTS by A. L. Humphreys (1926). This 1952 edition adds 22 plates. The text by R. A. Skelton, Superintendent of the British Museum's Map Room, is entirely new, and a major improvement in terms of sophistication, precision and detail. 87 pages of text + 84 map reproductions on coated stock. Twelve maps in beautiful full color. Bound in the original gilt-stamped maroon cloth. From the dust jacket: "DECORATIVE PRINTED MAPS provides a survey of maps printed from copper plates or wood-blocks between the 15th and 18th centuries. In these four centuries, from the birth of map-printing to the eve of scientific cartography, the printed map was the chief vehicle of popular geographical ideas. It was also, and still is, a source of visual pleasure. The early map-maker's deficiencies of knowledge and technique encouraged him to exercise his sense of fitness in design and his ingenuity in the decoration of his work. The design of his maps was controlled no less by the tools and processes used in engraving and printing them than by the public for whom they were made and by the commercial channels through which they were circulated. These topics have received little notice in most general works on cartography and they are given special attention in this volume. The 86 reproductions, 12 of which are in full colour, serve as a specimen book to illustrate the development of map-design and decoration. Of these reproductions 22 are new to this work, the remainder having been published in A. L. Humphreys' OLD DECORATIVE MAPS AND CHARTS (1926). The text, by Mr. R. A. Skelton, is entirely new and comprises an Introduction, a General Bibliography, and eight chapters dealing with the successive phases or national schools of map-making. The Introduction describes the techniques used for engraving and printing maps, the history of the map-trade, the development of the symbols, lettering, decoration and colouring of maps, some problems in the dating and study of engraved maps, their mortality, and the history of map-collecting. Each of the chapters that follow is associated with one group of plates and includes a short essay on it, a select bibliography, and notes on each of the plates. Although geographically the scope of the work is world-wide, in the text and the choice of new illustrations special prominence has been given to English maps, since these may be expected to have particular interest for readers in the English-speaking world." Oversize Hardcover. 9.75" wide by 12.5" tall. This large, heavy book will require extra postage for Priority and International shipments, but only the standard charge for media mail.. First Edition Thus. Oversize Hardcover. Near Fine condition/Fair dust jacket. 87 pages of text + 84 plates on coated stock. Great Packaging, Fast Shipping.