The Best English Pocket Atlas of the Revolutionary War Era
Scarce English pocket atlas of the world, which contains exceptional content for the British Colonies in North America.
The present edition was issued shortly after the start of the American Revolution and includes 11 maps focused on North America, 10 of which were then part of the British Colonies in North America.
The atlas includes an engraved frontispiece and 52 maps.
American maps include:
- 5. North America
- 39. Nova Scotia
- 40. New England
- 41. New York and Pensilvania
- 42. Pensilvania Maryland and Virginia
- 43. The English and French Settlements in Nth. America
- 44. Carolina and Georgia
- 45. Newfoundland
- 46. Isle of Cape Breton
- 47. West Indies
- 48. Canada and New France
- 49. Mexico or New Spain
John Gibson flourished in London from 1748 to 1773. He was most likely born ca. 1724. As a young man he was apprenticed to John Blunbell of the Stationers Company, and then to John Pine. He was made free of the Company in 1748. Gibson proved a talented geographer and engraver who produced numerous maps, especially for books and magazines. He worked in collaboration with other map sellers such as Emanuel Bowen and John Roque. His best-known work was the pocket atlas, The Atlas Minimus (1758). Although little is known about his life beyond his publications, he was imprisoned for debt in King’s Bench from May to June of 1765.
Emanuel Bowen (1694?-1767) was a British engraver and print seller. He was most well-known for his atlases and county maps. Although he died in poverty, he was widely acknowledged for his expertise and was appointed as mapmaker to both George II of England and Louis XV of France. His business was carried on by his son, Thomas Bowen. He also trained many apprentices, two of whom became prominent mapmakers, Thomas Kitchin and Thomas Jeffreys.