53 James Haywood / John Harrison 1789

John Harrison (fl.1784-1815) a printer and publisher at 115 Newgate St. London, produced the Atlas to accompany Nicholas Tindal’s translation of The History of England from c.1784 until 1789 (a work originally by Paul Rapin de Thoyras and published c.1730-50)¹. This included maps subsequently reissued in Maps and Plans of Tindal’s Continuation of Rapin’s History of England. Harrison employed several draughtsmen and engravers for the History including James Haywood and Edward Sudlow whose signatures are found on the Devon map. Other works by Harrison included a map of Africa (1787) and in 1791 a School Atlas. Sudlow seems to have restricted his cartographic output to works in association with Haywood and Harrison but also produced engraved music^.2

In 1791 he published his atlas, Maps of the English Counties (folio, 38 maps), reusing the maps produced for The History of England including Devonshire . For the atlas a description of each county on two pages was interleaved. The map of Devon shows very little of the surrounding counties, labels Somerset as DEVONSHIRE and is graticuled. Other counties were amended or had information added when reissued in 1791, such as town names, rivers and market days etc but these have not been noted on Devon.

An edition in which the imprint is amended has also been recorded: the date or the last two digits of the date have been erased on some maps in an atlas now broken up (General and County Atlas: London. J Harrison. (1815))³. In addition Burden states one atlas has added plate number typed.

The Morning Herald of 2nd May, 1787, carried an advertisement for specimen county maps by John Harrison printed in crimson ink on white satin. It is possible that the Devon map was issued in this state. Some maps produced on silk in this way were designed as embroidery exercises for young women.

Size 330 x 445 mm.                                                                                          English Statute Miles 69¹/₂ to a Degree (20 = 74 mm).

A MAP of DEVONSHIRE ENGRAVED FROM AN ACTUAL SURVEY with Improvements. Imprint: London, Engraved for J. Harrison, 115, Newgate Street, as the Act directs, 2d. July, 1789. (CeOS).  Signatures: Haywood Del (AeOS) and Sudlow Sculp (EeOS).