COLLECTION NAME:
David Rumsey Historical Map Collection
Record
Author:
Ogilby, John, 1600-1676
Author:
Owen, John
Author:
Bowen, Emanuel
Date:
1720
Short Title:
Road from Exeter to Barnstable.
Publisher:
Tho: Bowles
Publisher Location:
London
Type:
Atlas Map
Obj Height cm:
21
Obj Width cm:
26
Scale 1:
134,000
Country:
England
Country:
Wales
Subject:
Roads
Subject:
Emblems (Flags, Coats-of-Arms)
Full Title:
The Road from Exeter to Barnstable.
List No:
9736.094
Page No:
176-177
Series No:
94
Engraver or Printer:
Eman Bowen
Publication Author:
Ogilby, John, 1600-1676
Publication Author:
Owen, John
Publication Author:
Bowen, Emanuel
Pub Date:
1720
Pub Title:
Britannia Depicta or Ogilby Improved. Being a Correct Coppy of Mr. Ogilby's Actual Survey of All ye Direct & Principal Cross Roads in England and Wales ... By Ino. Owen ... Maps of All the Counties of South Britain ... By Eman Bowen, Engraver.
Pub Note:
The first edition, first issue of a small size edition of Olgilby's 1675 road atlas of England and Wales, our Pub List No. 9735.000. Ogilby's 1675 edition was so large that we assume few travelers could actually take it on the road. This small edition was far more portable. Revised with additional text, coats-of-arms, town descriptions (revised) and county maps. "First edition, first issue of this of this highly popular reduced version of John Ogilby's 1675 road atlas; Bowen's address given as "next ye King of Spain", plate 128 misnumbered 121, and plates 74 and 75 transposed. Bowles decided to go one better than Thomas Gardner and John Senex, who were planning reduced size re-issues of Ogilby, by augmenting the work with 54 county maps and "a multitude of historical, topographical and statistical information" (Hodson) by the antiquarian John Owen, the whole engraved onto 273 strip-maps by Emanuel Bowen. Bowles puffed the work extravagantly claiming, that "One leaf of this, contains more Observations than any whole book of this Nature yet publish'd", and seems to have stirred up "a great demand as there were four editions issued from 1720 to 1724" (Chubb). How practical this was as a road-book is questionable, the lay-out is rather cluttered with three or four road strips per page, together with the county maps, armorials, and minisculely engraved cursive text, however, it is certainly lively, and undoubtedly would have possessed considerable novelty on publication. Ogilby's survey itself was the first of the roads of England and Wales, "and [he] is probably best known on this account . Sir H.G. Fordham . says [the survey] 'is of particular and historical importance, as it displaced the old British mile of 2,428 yards, and substituted it for the statute mile of 1,760 yards, thus effecting a revolution in customary measurements'" (Chubb, p. 444)." (Daniel Crouch).
Pub List No:
9736.000
Pub Type:
National Atlas
Pub Maps:
137
Pub Height cm:
22
Pub Width cm:
15
Image No:
9736094.jp2
Authors:
Ogilby, John, 1600-1676; Owen, John; Bowen, Emanuel
Link To Source
Road from Exeter to Barnstable.
