Catalog Archive
Auction 149, Lot 434

"Plymouth, Devonport and Stonehouse", Tallis, John

Subject: Plymouth, England

Period: 1850 (circa)

Publication: Illustrated Atlas and Modern History of the World

Color: Hand Color

Size:
14 x 10.2 inches
35.6 x 25.9 cm
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The maps from The Illustrated Atlas were first published in serial form to a target audience that led insular lives due to the expense and hardship of travel. All that changed as the progress of the nineteenth century brought swift and dramatic changes in public awareness of far away places. Tallis' maps no doubt played an important role in this dramatic awakening. These maps not only provided up-to-date geographical knowledge, but also used vignette views within the map's design to show the native people and their occupations, cities and points of interest. The maps hark back to a cartographic tradition from the Dutch mapmakers of the seventeenth century with finely engraved decorative borders. The maps were drawn and engraved by John Rapkin with views drawn and engraved by a number of prominent artists. The maps were issued as a complete volume from 1851 until about 1865. Some of the maps were also published in other history books published by Tallis including British Colonies and, without the vignettes, in geographical dictionaries and encyclopedias until about 1880.

This decorative plan focuses on the city of Plymouth on the southern coast of Devon, England. The plan depicts the layout of the streets and identifies various locations of interest, including burial grounds, barracks, the citadel, a prison, and the limestone quarry. Devonport, the naval base, is shown in great detail. Three evocative vignettes drawn and engraved by H. Bibby surround the plan: an illustration of the column built to commemorate the renaming of Plymouth Dock to Devonport in 1823 and two scenes by the water. The plan was drawn and engraved by J. Rapkin.

References:

Condition: A

Minor offsetting, else fine.

Estimate: $100 - $140

Sold for: $150

Closed on 5/21/2014

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