Antique Hobson Fox Hunting Map of Middlesex, Royal Staghounds, circa 1870

About this sheet

This antique fox hunting map of Middlesex, from Hobson's Fox-Hunting Atlas, was engraved by J. and C. Walker circa 1870 and colors just one hunt country: Her Majesty's Stag Hounds. Its boundary runs in yellow across the western half of the county from Uxbridge and Harrow down toward Hounslow, the name lettered in blue capitals across the colored ground. The eastern half, London itself and the built-up parishes running out to the City boundary, carries no hunting color, since by 1870 fox hunting had long been displaced from the metropolis and its immediate suburbs.

The western villages, Uxbridge, Harrow and Ealing, still largely rural at this date, appear with their parks and market gardens in green, while the eastern portion grows steadily denser with streets toward central London, the Thames drawn broad and blue along the southern edge. A reference table for the hundreds sits at lower left, and the cartouche, with the county name and the Walker imprint, occupies the upper right beside the compass star.

William Colling Hobson compiled the atlas, J. and C. Walker engraved its maps on steel, and Longman and Company of Paternoster Row, London, published it, first around 1850 and in reissues running into the 1870s. Hobson's Fox-Hunting Atlas records the boundaries of the hunt countries in hand color and marks the places of meeting of the foxhounds; this sheet comes from the edition of circa 1870, with its boundaries in original outline hand color. The sheet records the very edge of organized hunting this close to London: the royal stag hounds, hunting the carted deer rather than fox, were among the last mounted hunts operating within reach of the capital, and theirs is the only country the atlas records here.

For hunting families, county collectors and anyone with a connection to the place, this antique fox hunting map of Middlesex is an original atlas sheet, well suited to framing.

The sheet is in good condition for its age, with age toning, stronger towards the edges, a central fold, faint offsetting of the blue lettering and a few small spots. Please review the images for further condition details.

This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed. Any framed or interior images are shown for presentation and inspiration only, unless the listing explicitly states that the item is sold framed.