1794 Wilkinson Map of Switzerland

Switzerland-wilkinson-1792
$150.00
Switzerland with its Subjects and Allies Drawn from the Best Authorities. - Main View
Processing...

1794 Wilkinson Map of Switzerland

Switzerland-wilkinson-1792

$150.00

Title


Switzerland with its Subjects and Allies Drawn from the Best Authorities.
  1794 (dated)     9.5 x 12 in (24.13 x 30.48 cm)     1 : 1240000

Description


This is Robert Wilkinson's beautiful 1794 map of Switzerland. It covers the entirety of Switzerland divided into Cantons. With its unique blend of dramatic mountains and stunning vistas, Switzerland is considered to be one of the world's most beautiful places.

The French tried to centralize authority of Switzerland by forming the Helvetic Republic (1798–1803). Until then the area consisted mainly of independent cantons united by a loose military alliance. Facing widespread resistance, the Republic would last only five years. The exquisitely rendered Alps and fine coloring make this the most attractive European map in Wilkinson's atlas.

This map was engraved by Thomas Conder and issued as plate no. 11 in the 1792 edition of Robert Wilkinson's General Atlas.

CartographerS


Robert Wilkinson (fl. c. 1758 - 1825) was a London based map and atlas publisher active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Most of Wilkinson's maps were derived from the earlier work of John Bowles, one of the preeminent English map publishers of the 18th century. Wilkinson's acquired the Bowles map plate library following that cartographer's death in 1779. Wilkinson updated and retooled the Bowles plates over several years until, in 1794, he issued his first fully original atlas, The General Atlas of the World. This popular atlas was profitably reissued in numerous editions until about 1825 when Wilkinson died. In the course of his nearly 45 years in the map and print trade, Wilkinson issued also published numerous independently issued large format wall, case, and folding maps. Wilkinson's core cartographic corpus includes Bowen and Kitchin's Large English Atlas (1785), Speer's West Indies (1796), Atlas Classica (1797), and the General Atlas of the World (1794, 1802, and 1809), as well as independent issue maps of New Holland (1820), and North America ( 1823). Wilkinson's offices were based at no. 58 Cornhill, London form 1792 to 1816, following which he relocated to 125 Frenchurch Street, also in London, where he remained until 1823. Following his 1825 death, Wilkinson's business and map plates were acquired by William Darton, an innovative map publisher who reissued the General Atlas with his own imprint well into the 19th century. More by this mapmaker...


Thomas Conder (1747 - June 1831) was an English map engraver and bookseller active in London during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. From his shop at 30 Bucklersbury, London, Conder produced a large corpus of maps and charts, usually in conjunction with other publishers of his day, including Wilkinson, Moore, Kitchin, and Walpole. Unfortunately few biographical facts regarding Conder's life have survived. Thomas Conder was succeeded by his son Josiah Conder who, despite being severely blinded by smallpox, followed in his father's footsteps as a bookseller and author of some renown. Learn More...

Source


Wilkinson, R., A General Atlas being A Collection of Maps of the World and Quarters the Principal Empires, Kingdoms, etc. with their several Provinces, and other Subdivisions, Correctly Delineated, (London) 1792.    

Condition


Very good. Original platemark visible. Blank on verso.

References


Rumsey 1201.033 (1794 edition).