Fine "SchoolBoy" Manuscript Geographical Compendium
With Detailed Maps and a "Geographical Clock" with Volvelle
A beautifully executed manuscript volume of geographical topics, almost certainly accomplished by a youthful student of Geography in England, possibly one E. Dawson, whose name appears written in pencil on the front free endpaper. The text covers the gamut of topics and continents: Geography, Spheres, Europe, Asia, Africa, America, South America, A Short View of the Solar System, On Eclipses, On the Tides, On the Use of the Terrestrial Globe, Examples [geographical "problems" or exercises], On the Use of the Celestial Globe. Most notable are the highly detailed manuscript maps, listed below.
Double sheet maps:
- The World [double hemisphere, with small vignette of "Saturn and Double Ring"
- England and Wales
- A Map of Europe
- Asia
- Africa
- A Map of America from the New Globes. MDCCCVIII.
- "Sandwich Islands... here Cook was killed 14 Febr. 1779"
- South America. 1808.
- A Map of the West Indies. Anno 1808.
Other folding drawings:
- Proportional Magnitudes of the Orbits
- The Earth's Orbit
There is also a curious full-page "Geographical Clock" with circular volvelle. This elegant circular diagram incorporates Roman numerals representing a 24-hour cycle and radiating lines labeled with various cities or regions, centered on a small globe symbolizing the Earth. Clearly used as an educational tool, it demonstrates the concept of local time differences across the globe, predating the formal adoption of standardized time zones in 1884. Users could align the clock to a reference time, such as noon or midnight, and trace corresponding times for other locations, offering a practical method to visualize global time relationships in an era of increasing travel and communication.
In addition to the above, there are numerous finely executed pen and ink wash drawings in the text (globes, compass rose, and the like) which greatly enhance the manuscript's beauty and interest.
We have handled similar early 19th-century geographical exercise manuscript volumes, but the present example is among the most accomplished we have seen.