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LAURIE, Robert & WHITTLE, James : Laurie's New Traveller's Companion, and Guide through the Roads of England and Wales, Including Great part of Scotland; with a General Map, and an Index Villaris, & c

R. H. Laurie, No. 53, Fleet Street, London, 1838-[40]

Quarto (265 x 175 mm.), full contemporary limp red morocco, with locking flap (later?), rebacked, with pocket at the end and one later endpaper. With engraved title page, an Advertisement, Directions and Explanation leaf, Index, Parliamentary Representation, pp. ii, 8, (4), folding general map of England and Wales (with fold repair) and 25 double page engraved maps all in early outline colour, complete with blank endpapers. With some light offsetting, otherwise a good example.

The firm of Laurie and Whittle relied heavily on the plates of Robert Sayer which were acquired following his death in 1794. Often thought of as mere publishers Robert Laurie (1755-1836) was a noted craftsman. He was a talented mezzotint engraver who invented a method of mezzotint printing in colour, an achievement that won him an award from the Royal Society of Arts in 1776. In the early 1790s he entered the publishing business with James Whittle (1757-1818) as his partner. The acquisition of Sayer’s stock catapulted them into the major league. In 1806 they published a road book entitled the 'Laurie and Whittle’s New Traveller’s Companion' which included road maps. They were compiled by Nathaniel Coltman who, working for the Post Office was perfectly placed to produce them. Engraved by Joseph Bye, Edward Jones, Benjamin Smith and W. West they covered territory as far as the Isle of Wight and Scotland. The format was a change from the past which until first published had largely followed the strip map format devised by John Ogilby in 1675. Coltman produces here clear maps which cover larger areas for easier reference. The maps are strictly functional concentrating just on roads and distances, the earlier use of nearby features such as churches and hills is omitted. It was a success with a number of editions following and alterations were constantly made to the plates to bring them up-to-date. In 1812 Robert Laurie retired and was replaced in the partnership by his son Richard Holmes Laurie and the firm changed its name to Whittle and Laurie. Then in 1818 James Whittle died and the firm became known as that of R. H. Laurie. The firm still exists today under the name Imray, Laurie, Norie & Wilson Ltd. This example is the penultimate edition, the final issue being in 1846. The general map bears an imprint dated 1840. Carroll reports the same in another example. Found in the pocket at the end is a folding sheet in French with a table of routes in Germany. Provenance: with manuscript inscription of ‘Geo Stockwell’ on the title page. Beresiner (1983) pp. 136-9; Carroll (1996) Appendix no. 16; Fordham (1924) p. 51 (this edition not listed); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).

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