Rocque's large and detailed plan of the cities of Georgian London and the country ten miles round
By ROCQUE, John , 1745
£25,000
BUY

An exact Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster the Borough of Southwark, The Country near ten Miles round; begun in 1741, finished in 1745, and publish’d in 1746, according to Act of Parliament, By John Rocque Land-Surveyor: Engrav’d by Richard Parr, and Printed by W. Pratt.

British Isles London
  • Author: ROCQUE, John
  • Publication place: London
  • Publisher: Sold by the Proprietor John Rocque, next the Duke of Grafton's Head, in Hyde Park-Road, the Bottom of Piccadilly, and at the Print Shops in London and Westminster, Price two Guineas in Sheets.
  • Publication date: 1747
  • Physical description: Folio (530 by 380mm), title page, one page subscribers list and index, 16 double page engraved sheets, half sheep over original marbled paper boards, rubbed, rebacked and recornered.
  • Dimensions: 2110 by 2810mm. (83 by 110.75 inches).
  • Inventory reference: 1408

To scale:

Notes

One of the finest maps of – what is now – Greater London ever produced. It would appear that John Rocque, a French Huguenot, emigrated with the rest of his family to London in the 1730s, where he began to ply his trade as a surveyor of gentleman’s estates, and with plans of Kensington Gardens, and Hampton Court. However, in 1737 he applied his surveying skills to a much great task, that of surveying the entire built-up area of London. Began in the March of 1737, the map would take nine years to produce, eventually being engraved upon 24 sheets of copper and published in 1746. Whilst engaged upon this project Rocque was also working on the present map of the country ten miles round London, and on a scale of 51/2 inches to the mile, or one quarter of the scale of the large survey. The completed map was published in 1746.

This is the second recorded state of the map which has a few minor alterations, for example Whitechapel Mount is shown, and ‘Mile End Old Town’ and Mile End New Town’ have been added along the roads.

Scale: 5 1/2 inches to 1 statute mile.

Bibliography

  1. Howgego 94 state (2).
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