Large Antique Plan of London with the Thames and the Parks, 1846
US$1,496
Original antique · The actual sheet photographed · Certificate of authenticity on request · Sold unframed · Worldwide shipping from € 15 (rates)
Date
1846
Mapmaker / artist
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge
Publisher
Charles Knight and Co., 22 Ludgate Street, London
Technique
Steel Engraving
Coloring
Original hand color
Sheet size
43 × 68 cm (16.9 × 26.8 in)
Condition
Good
Reference
BG-14487-1-24
What the condition grades mean
Excellent
Bright and clean, with no faults worth mentioning.
Very good
Only light signs of age, such as faint toning.
Good
Normal signs of age for a sheet of this period: toning, some foxing, small marks or neat old repairs.
Fair
Clear faults such as staining, tears or repairs, priced to match.
Every fault we see is written in the condition note, and the whole sheet is shown uncropped in the photos.
Condition
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the right edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right corner. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.
About this sheet
This is an original antique city plan of London, steel engraved and published in the atlas of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. This is the double sheet of the series, printed across two plate numbers and twice the width of the ordinary plans, and it carries the whole of London in 1846 on one surface. Hyde Park, the Regent's Park and the Green Park are hand colored, the squares of Bloomsbury and Belgravia are drawn block by block, the docks run away to the east and the early railway termini are marked where they had reached. The outline and water coloring is original hand color, applied by the publisher before the sheet was bound into the volume.
The sheet carries plate numbers 185 and 186 in the third volume of the Society's atlas, Plans of Cities, Stars and Index to Places, published in London by Charles Knight at 22 Ludgate Street in 1847. The Society issued its maps in parts from 1829 onward, and this collected edition was lettered as a new edition corrected to the present time, which is why individual plates still carry their own earlier dates.
London in 1846 was the largest city in the world and this is the sheet that shows it whole, at the moment the railways were cutting into it and before the Victorian suburbs spread beyond the frame. Its size makes it the largest plan in the volume and one that carries a wall on its own. Framed simply in dark wood or a plain gilt frame it suits a study, a hallway or a dining room, and it is a natural gift for anyone with a tie to the place.
Light uneven toning, browner toward the edges. Handling soiling along the right edge. Scattered light foxing in the margin. Slight wear at the bottom right corner. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the right.
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.
