At the end of the 18th century the Port of London was expanding rapidly, and a number of plans were proposed to increase the wet dock capacity of the port. In 1799, a competition was announced that would determine the new design of the crumbling, 600 year old London Bridge. This plan shows the changes proposed by Thomas Telford (1757-1834), a Scottish civil engineer, architect, and stonemason, and James Douglass, an engineer dubbed the "Eskdale Archimedes" by his partner. Their design was a single 600 foot cast iron arch that was rejected for being impractical. The plan depicts London's streets and some notable sites, and it includes a key at top left which identifies the plan for the new bridge, post office, fish market, coal deposits, and more. Engraved by James Basire and printed by Luke Hansard and Sons.

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Condition: B+

Issued folding with minor offsetting and a couple short fold separations at top. The top margin has been trimmed close to the neatline.