Bidspirit auction | Laurie & Whittle - A

Laurie & Whittle - A New Map of the Whole Continent of America - This exceptional map is from Thomas Kitchin's A New Universal Atlas, exhibiting all the empires, kingdoms, states, republics, &c. &c. in the whole world. being a complete collection of the most approved maps extant....including all the tracks and new discoveries of the British circumnavigators Biron [sic], Wallis, Carteret, Captain James Cook, Vancouver, Perouse, &c. &c. The work was published by Robert Holmes Laurie and James Whittle in London in 1801 and is considered the fifth edition of the work. Each engraving is on a large fold out sheet, though some are on larger folding sheets or even intended to be joined to make spectacular wall maps, truly impressive in scale. This atlas is one of the most important atlases of the world ever published. This particular edition featured a newly revised chart of the world and nine new maps previously not included. Eight editions of the work were published in all almost annually beginning in 1796. The publishers took great care in continuously improving and changing the atlas to both outdo the competitors but to also imporove upon their previous publications. While Thomas Kitchin created the atlas that was originally published by Sayer and Bennett in 1773, Laurie and Whittle took over the Sayer business in 1794. The pair enlarged the work and revised the name from General Atlas to A New Universal Atlas . The maps were published using information from cartographers including: Thomas Kitchin, Thomas Jefferys, John Rocque, Robert Campbell, John Armstrong, John Roberts, L. S. d'Arcy Delarochette, James Rennell, Andrew Dury, Thomas Pownall and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville. The work also incorporated the information gathered as a result of the important Pacific voyages of Captain James Cook, George Vancouver, and Jean Francois Galaup de La Perouse. Paper Size: ~ 39 1/2” by 20 7/8” (Two separate fold out sheets that can be conjoined for one large wall map)