1818 Pinkerton Map of Australia & New Zealand

This fascinating hand colored 1818 map by Edinburgh cartographer John Pinkerton depicts Australia (as New Holland with Van Diemen's land no longer attached), New Zealand (depicts only two islands), and parts of Micronesia and Polynesia (nothing is in quite the right place). Without a doubt, one of the finest and most important maps of the Australia to appear in the 19th century. The map comes from the scarce American edition of Pinkerton's Modern Atlas, published by Dobson & Co. of Philadelphia in 1818.

Cartographer

John Pinkerton (February 17, 1758 - March 10, 1826) was an Scottish writer, historian, and cartographer. Pinkerton was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was a studious youth with a passion for the classics. As a young man, he studied at Edinburgh University before apprenticing as a lawyer. Around this time, he began writing, with his first book, Elegy on Craigmillar Castle published in 1776. Pinkerton moved to London in 1781 to pursue his writing career in earnest. He successfully published several works of literature, poetry, and history. Pinkerton proved passionate in his literary and historical writings, but his correspondence with other cartographers has been labeled as aggressive, even insane. In addition to his work as a writer and historian, Pinkerton was one of the leading masters of the Edinburgh school of cartography which flourished from roughly 1800 to 1830. Pinkerton and his contemporaries (Thomson and Cary) redefined European cartography by abandoning typical 18th century decorative elements such as elaborate title cartouches and fantastical beasts in favor of detail and accuracy. Pinkerton's principle work is Pinkerton's Modern Atlas published from 1808 through 1815 with a special American reissue by Dobson and Co. in 1818. Pinkerton relocated to Paris in 1818, where he managed his publishing business until his death in 1826.   Further Details...

Condition

Fine or Perfect condition. Wide clean margins. Blank on verso.