Gibson, John
John Gibson (1724 – 1773) was an English map engraver active in London at the end of the 18th century. Gibson was the son of a locksmith. In 1739 he apprenticed to John Blundell as a stationer of Grub Street. Gibson proved a fine engraver and was much in demand by London map publishers. During his career he produced thousands of maps and was admired as a skilled engraver and sculptor. Among others, he engraved for Emanuel Bowen, Robert Sayer, Jean Palairet, John Rocque, Andrew Dury, and Benjamin Martin. His best known work was prepared in conjunction with Gentleman's Magazine. Gibson, sadly, was not as astute in his fiscal affairs as with the engravers pen and consequently spent much of his life consigned to debtor's prison.
Expanding Russian control of Siberia.
A map of some provinces in Siberia, and the borders towards China : being an appendage to the map of Russian Frontiers, as surveyed by the Russians, 1747.
$400.00
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A wonderfully detailed map of a central portion of Siberia around Tomsk, engraved by John Gibson and published in 1753 in Jonas Hanway's An Historical Account of the British Trade over the Caspian Sea. With Russia's presence being established in the area in the early 17h century, the map reflects the steadily growing presence of Russian soldiers, missionaries, and settlers by the mid-18th century. (more details)
Russian mapping of their southeastern frontier.
The Appendage to the Maps of the Orenburg Expedition, No. 1. and the Provinces in Siberia, No. 2. As taken by the Russians in 1747.
$650.00
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This fascinating map of modern-day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, engraved by John Gibson in 1753, was based on Russian maps Jonas Hanway included in his An Historical Account of the British Trade Over the Caspian Sea. Hanway supplemented the results of his own travels to the Caspian with a multiplicity of travelers' journals and the maps of other explorers, compiling an exhaustive collection of the most up to date geographical sources for this area, which remained one of the most obscure regions in the world. The map is centered on the Silk Route capitals of Samarkand and Bukhara, east of the Aral Sea. The cities of Tashkent and Badakshan are shown; the northeastern Caspian Sea and the lower part of the Ural River appears at the west; the eastern shore of the endoheiric Aral Sea is shown as well, but the western shore and indeed all the land between the Caspian and the Aral Sea is obscure. (The nomadic Tatars occupying that region were notoriously ill disposed towards travelers.) The map excels in detailing the regions south and east of the Aral, which include cities having 'plantations of trees' and 'mountains on which the Persians say is Gold and Silver and Lapis Lazuli.' (more details)
The most detailed chart of the Caspian Sea of the mid-18th century.
A Plain Chart of the Caspian-Sea, According to the Observations of Capt. John Elton, Author of Elton's Quadrant, and Thomas Woodroofe, Master of the British Ship Empress of Russia, Who navigated this Sea three years; Presented to Mr. Jonas Hanway of St. Petersburgh in 1745 by his most Obedient Servant Thomas Woodroofe.
$650.00
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This superbly detailed chart of the Caspian Sea, engraved by John Gibson in 1753, was the first detailed charting of that sea following the work of Carl Van Verden, and arguably the better chart. It was produced for inclusion in Jonas Hanway's An Historical Account of the British Trade Over the Caspian Sea and relies on details provided Hanway by captains John Elton and Thomas Woodroofe, whose accounts have been preserved nowhere but in Hanway's work. (more details)
Russian mapping of their southeastern frontier.
A Map of the Orenburgh Expedition, with the Russian Frontiers towards Independent Tartary, made in Orenburgh in 1747.
$550.00
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This fascinating map, engraved by John Gibson in 1753, depicts modern-day southern Russia, along the empire's contentious frontier with the lands of the Kazakh and Oirat tribes. These and other tribes from what the map terms 'Independent Tartary' made regular incursions into Russian territory, and the first part of the 18th century was characterized by Russia's efforts to stem those incursions. Among these efforts was the construction of the Irtysh line, a series of fortifications clearly shown on this map spanning the Volga and the Irtysh Rivers, for much of the distance following the north bank of the Ural, or Yaik river. The map distinguishes between those fortifications already constructed, and those which were yet intended to be built. (more details)
The Volga and its tributaries in the mid-18th century.
An exact map of the course of the Great River Volga, from the Survey made by Order of the Russian Court agreeable to the set of Maps publish'd in St. Petersburg in 1745.
$250.00
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This is a superbly detailed chart of the Volga River, engraved by John Gibson in 1753, produced for inclusion in Jonas Hanway's An Historical Account of the British Trade Over the Caspian Sea. It relies on details provided Hanway by sources in the Russian Academy in St. Petersburg. In composing the map, Gibson has solved the problem of displaying a long, meandering river in detail by framing the map in three sections, adding a fourth general map to indicate how the detail maps connect. A General View of the Volga, positioned in the lower right quadrant of the sheet, shows the full length of the Volga from its source to the Caspian Sea with the letters 'A' and 'B' marking the points where the corresponding positions on the detail maps connect. (more details)
Increasing knowledge of the North Polar region.
A Map of the Icy Sea in which the several Communications with the Land Waters and other new Discoveries are exhibited.
$300.00
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A fascinating c. 1760 John Gibson map of the North Polar region that appeared in the London Gentleman's Magazine. Highlighting the latest discoveries by several nations as well as a host of speculations, it provides insight into the extent and limits of geographical knowledge at the time. (more details)
Trade routes between London and Persia.
The Several Routs, to and from Persia taken from the Map, presented to the House of Lords by the Russia Company in 1740 and since Corrected according to Experience.
$450.00
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This elegant 1753 Jonas Hanway map of Europe and the Near East illustrates the trade routes of British Russia Company, as proposed to the House of Lords in 1740. It was engraved in 1753 by John Gibson to accompany Jonas Hanway's account of his journey from Russia to Persia. Although not himself a company member, the merchant Hanway entered into partnership with member Robert Dingley (1710 - 1780). Thus, Hanway's routes taken in his 1743 journey hewed closely to the northern one proposed here. This route ran by sea to St. Petersburg and then by land to Tsaritsyn, Astrakhan and the Caspian Region. A southern route was also presented, from London via the Mediterranean to Syrma, and then to Persia via Asia Minor. (more details)
Trade routes between London and Russia.
The Author's Routs from London as far as Zaritzen and back through Russia Germany and Holland.
$250.00
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This is an example of John Gibson's rare map of Northern Europe, engraved in 1753 to accompany Jonas Hanway's account of his journey from Russia to Persia. It shows the track Hanway took in 1743 to northern Persia via Russia, as well as his return in 1750 via Germany and the Netherlands. Although its intent is simply to visually support Hanway's narrative, it highlights the important trade routes of Northern Europe between Britain and the East. (more details)