Pote, Joseph
Joseph Pote (1703?–1787) was an English publisher, editor and bookseller who carried out his business in Eton (and indeed appears to have kept a boarding house for students of the famous school there.) His connections with the school appear to have been many: he published the school's alumni catalogue in 1730, for example. Much of his output - for example, his 1761 edition of Mela, and his histories of Windsor Castle - are aimed at an educational audience.
A couplet ascribed to Eton boys of the 18th century complains of Pote:
A couplet ascribed to Eton boys of the 18th century complains of Pote:
Jos. Pote, a man of great renownPlus ça change.
Buys a book for sixpence and sells it for a crown.
18th century depiction of 1st century Africa.
Viro Optimo Maximoque, Minorum Gentium Patricio, Philippo Sydenham Africa.
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This is a fine example of a scarce and unusual map of Africa, included in scholar John Reynolds' 1739 and 1761 editions of Pomponius Mela's first century geographical work, De Situ Orbis. The map was intended to aid the modern reader with ancient geography, by placing the first century Roman geographer's toponymy in the framework of a more modern delineation of the continent. In order to do so, despite presenting a recognizable 18th century outline of Africa, the mountains and rivers displayed on the map correspond more closely to the ideas of Mela than those of later cartographers. Most obvious among these traits is the lack of any river associated with the Atlantic, and the depiction of the River Nile with its headwaters in a massive lake reminiscent of the westernmost of the pair that would be associated with the later Roman geographer, Ptolemy. (more details)