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Description

Fine early map of the "settled portions" South Australia, published by John Arrowsmith.

This 1846 state of the map is unrecorded and apparently the first state to include the "Plan of Port Adelaide with Soundings 1846, which was not present in the 1839, 1840 and 1843 editions of the map.  This state notes in the publication line that it was prepared by Arrowsmith "for Dutton's 'South Australia, and its Mines."  However, the present example was published on heavy paper and appeared in a circa 1850 example of Arrowsmith's London Atlas.

This is the first state of the map to show the Kapunda Copper mine and a proposed railway link from Adelaide to Port Adelaide.

"Mineral Localities coloured Red" lower left, below the black rule.

The map shows the area from Eyre Peninsula eastwards to the Coorong.  The area around Adelaide is now settled in 8 named counties. 

Details include place names and vegetation notes. Relief shown by hachures and some spot heights.

Counties located include Flinders, Stanley, Gawler, Light, Eyre, Adelaide, Sturt, Hindmarsh and Russell.

Edward John Eyre's tracks of 1838 and 1840 appear in red outline, along with Captain Frome's tracks of 1842. The Kapunda Copper mine has yet to be established, the map being done about the time it was discovered.

The map is known to exist in 4 recorded states. Tooley cites 3 editions, 1839, 1840 and 1858.  We are aware of an 1843 state.   

John Arrowsmith Biography

The Arrowsmiths were a cartographic dynasty which operated from the late-eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth. The family business was founded by Aaron Arrowsmith (1750-1823), who was renowned for carefully prepared and meticulously updated maps, globes, and charts. He created many maps that covered multiple sheets and which were massive in total size. His spare yet exacting style was recognized around the world and mapmakers from other countries, especially the young country of the United States, sought his maps and charts as exemplars for their own work.

Aaron Arrowsmith was born in County Durham in 1750. He came to London for work around 1770, where he found employment as a surveyor for the city’s mapmakers. By 1790, he had set up his own shop which specialized in general charts. Arrowsmith had five premises in his career, most of which were located on or near Soho Square, a neighborhood the led him to rub shoulders with the likes of Joseph Banks, the naturalist, and Matthew Flinders, the hydrographer.

Through his business ties and employment at the Hydrographic Office, Arrowsmith made other important relationships with Alexander Dalrymple, the Hudson’s Bay Company, and others entities. In 1810 he became Hydrographer to the Prince of Wales and, in 1820, Hydrographer to the King.

Aaron Arrowsmith died in 1823, whereby the business and title of Hydrographer to the King passed to his sons, Aaron and Samuel, and, later, his nephew, John. Aaron Jr. (1802-1854) was a founder member of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) and left the family business in 1832; instead, he enrolled at Oxford to study to become a minister. Samuel (1805-1839) joined Aaron as a partner in the business and they traded together until Aaron left for the ministry. Samuel died at age 34 in 1839; his brother presided over his funeral. The remaining stock and copper plates were bought at auction by John Arrowsmith, their cousin.

John (1790-1873) operated his own independent business after his uncle, Aaron Arrowsmith Sr., died. After 1839, John moved into the Soho premises of his uncle and cousins. John enjoyed considerable recognition in the geography and exploration community. Like Aaron Jr., John was a founder member of the RGS and would serve as its unofficial cartographer for 43 years. Several geographical features in Australia and Canada are named after him. He carried the title Hydrographer to Queen Victoria. He died in 1873 and the majority of his stock was eventually bought by Edward Stanford, who co-founded Stanford’s map shop, which is still open in Covent Garden, London today.