A. Leicestershire, by Archibald Fullarton & Co., circa 1843 (9.5 x 7.3"). This small but detailed map depicts the county of Leicestershire. Hundreds, roads, parks, and several towns and cities are identified. The numbers that appear next to some of the towns indicate their distance from London. A view of Belvoir Castle appears at top left. Engraved by Gray and Son. Condition: Issued folding with two faint damp stains that enter into the image at bottom and a hint of offsetting. (A)

B. Bedfordshire, by Thomas Moule, circa 1844 (8.0 x 10.4"). This decorative map covers the county of Bedfordshire. It is divided into ten hundreds and includes roads, parks, and numerous towns and cities. An elaborate border surrounds the map, featuring armorial shields, a nun, a laborer, and two views at right depicting Dunstable Priory and Woburn Abbey.

Thomas Moule (1784 – 1851) was a writer, bookseller, publisher, topographer and a scholar in heraldry. His varied career led him in 1830 to produce a series of English county map based on his own travel. He wrote that he has “with expensive diligence personally visited every county in England, excepting only Devonshire and Cornwall.” His maps were delicately engraved on steel in a highly decorative style, featured such embellishments as armorial bearings, figures, fancy borders and vignettes of local interest. This amount of ornamentation in mapmaking was unusual for the period as most mapmaker’s were instead creating scientifically accurate, austere works. His series of county maps were originally published in separate sections for each county (1830-32), then subsequently published in a two-volume work: The English Counties Delineated…, (1836). Beginning in 1841, the maps appeared in Barclays Complete and Universal English Dictionary. Condition: Backed in tissue with a view small extraneous creases. (A)

C. Huntingdon Shire, by Thomas Kitchin, from London Magazine, dated 1748 (7.1 x 8.6"). This copper engraved map of Huntingdonshire includes a decorative title cartouche and simple compass rose. This is from the series of county maps issued for London Magazine between 1747 and 1763. It shows roads, villages, castles, canals, parks, and towns. Reference: Jolly #LOND-38. Condition: A fine impression issued folding with light toning, minor offsetting from an opposing page of text, and a few short fold separations in the blank margins that have been closed with archival tape. (B+)

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See description above.