A complete bijou of a map, not less useful than elegant
By FRASER, James , 1837
£1,250
BUY

James Fraser's Panoramic Plan of London Dedicated to Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Adelaide. Engraved by Jas. Neale & Co. Burleigh St. Strand.

British Isles London
  • Author: FRASER, James
  • Publication place: London, 215 Regent Street
  • Publisher: James Fraser
  • Publication date: 1837.
  • Physical description: Engraved map, dissected and mounted on linen, hand-coloured in outline, bordered with 18 engraved views of some of the principal attractions of London, housed within original green cloth folder, bookseller's ticket on pastedown "Sold by John Bubb, Bradford", with printed label on upper cover, spine worn and repaired.
  • Dimensions: 410 by 550mm (16.25 by 21.75 inches).
  • Inventory reference: 1566

Notes

The eighteen views surrounding the map depict the New Post Office, Italian Opera House, Queen’s New Palace, Entrance to Hyde Park, Custom House, National Scottish Church, Drury Lane, Somerset House, Westminster Abbey, The Colosseum, Covent Garden Theatre, Thames Tunnel, St Paul’s, Waterloo Bridge, Bank of England, New London Bridge, London University and Hammersmith Suspension Bridge.

According to Fraser’s advertisement, the map was available at four different prices, starting at 7s 6d in a French Case to 16s in a black frame, our example is the more humble 3s issue in cloth. The reviews were handsome, the Literary Gazette calling the publication “A complete bijou of a map, not less useful than elegant.” The Athenaeum regarded the map as “generally serviceable”, leaving the Christian Remembrancer to throw caution to the wind and claiming “the eighteen marginal views of the principle public buildings are perfect gems of art, and cannot fail, when combined with the correct delineation of the survey, to recommend it to the public favour both for elegance and unity.”

Scale: 3 inches to 1 statute mile.

Bibliography

  1. Howgego 332 (3).
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