Essex Maps

37x24 cm

FIRST STEEL ENGRAVED MAP OF THE COUNTY

ESSEX.
Published by Pigot & Co. 24 Basing Lane London & Fountain St. Manchester
Engraved on Steel by Pigot & Son Manchester.

James Pigot produced the first National Directory for England and Wales and the maps that accompanied his directories represented a technological advance in printing, being the first set of county maps to be engraved on a steel plate rather than copper. Steel was less subject to wear, and the development of tools to enable the engraver to work on steel extended the useable life of the plate, and extended the print run. The reduction in wear to the plate also enabled the engraver to cut finer lines and to show more detail and during a period when maps were becoming more utilitarian with less decoration, it is likely that Pigot included a finely engraved and detailed cartouche of a notable local landmark to demonstrate the advantages of this new technology. 
This series were first issued in parts from 1826, beginning with the home counties, followed by his  directories and then in his Atlas, Pigot & Co,s British Atlas of the counties of England…

Includes a vignette of Saffron Walden Church.

Very good example in original hand colour without centrefold from the first edition published in Pigot & Co's British Atlas the First Part comprising London and the home counties issued without title page or text in 1826.