Untitled collection

"A most unusual and attractive comparative rivers chart or map issued separately as an optional post-publication supplement to the 1821 edition Thomson's General Atlas. It is a unique angle on the comparative genre, focusing exclusively on rivers laid out comparatively in a compelling array. The rivers are divided by continent with the Amazon River taking pride of place at some 3100 miles long. The humble Nile, its full majesty yet a mystery, clocks in a poor fourth at just 2000 miles (following Pinkerton). Other impressive rivers include the Ob and Volga, both in Russia, and the Hoang Ho of China (Yellow River or Huang He). At the base of the chart is a view of the sea, with multiple sailing ships and a lighthouse. Mountains and volcanoes surround the rivers, but none are defined. A chart in the upper left compares river lengths by continent. Publication History and Census This chart was presumably issued as an optional supplement sometime after the final 1821 edition of Thomson's General Atlas, thus accounting for its rarity. We have not seen any complete editions of the atlas containing this chart. We see no examples in the OCLC, nor separate examples in any other institutional catalog. The chart was reissued in 1851 by George Phillip and Son. John Thomson (1777 - c. 1841) was a Scottish cartographer, publisher, and bookbinder active in Edinburgh during the early part of the 19th century. Thomson apprenticed under Edinburgh bookbinder Robert Alison. After his apprenticeship he briefly went into business with Abraham Thomson. Later the two parted ways, John Thomson segueing into maps and Abraham Thomson taking over the bookbinding portion of the business. Thomson is generally one of the leading publishers in the Edinburgh school of cartography which flourished from roughly 1800 to 1830. Thomson and his contemporaries (Pinkerton and Cary) redefined European cartography by abandoning typical 18th century decorative elements such as elaborate title cartouches and fantastic beasts in favor of detail and accuracy. Thomson's principle works include Thomson's New General Atlas, published from 1814 to 1821, the New Classical and Historical Atlas of 1829, and his 1830 Atlas of Scotland. The Atlas of Scotland, a work of groundbreaking detail and dedication would eventually bankrupt the Thomson firm in 1830, at which time their plates were sequestered by the court. The firm partially recovered in the subsequent year allowing Thomson to reclaim his printing plates in 1831, but filed again for bankruptcy in 1835, at which time most of his printing plates were sold to A. K. Johnston and Company. There is some suggestion that he continued to work as a bookbinder until 1841. Today, Thomson maps are becoming increasingly rare as they are highly admired for their impressive size, vivid hand coloration, and superb detail." (Geographicus, 2023)

This is the first separate issue edition of Colton's iconic mountains and rivers map which went through many later editions in Colton's world atlases. Color pictorial map, 39 x 58 on sheet 53 x 77. Relief shown pictorially, by hachures, spot heights and in tables. Shows comparative lengths of world's rivers and heights of world's mountains, by region and by continent. With extensive annotations on vegetation, volcanic activity, small illustrations of major cities and lakes with relative altitudes; relative locations for cities along course of rivers. Includes "Explanation" and "Tables of Heights" in left and right panels, listing mountains with altitudes, locations, and numbered key to illustrations.

William Playfair's An inquiry into the permanent causes of the decline and fall of powerful and wealthy nations ... , published in London by Greenland and Norris, 1805. First edition; second edition published in 1807. Pagination: [i-iii], iv-xx, [1], 2-301, with [4] fold-out leaves of plates throughout. Includes a preface, table of contents, and historical text, followed by an index. Marbled page edges, now faded. This copy has embossing on title page: Library of the University of Detroit. Plates contain four hand-colored engraved charts showing worldwide economic histories and international relationships, as well as the populations and square miles of nations. The exquisite graphics convey the data through easily comprehensible visuals, which are also stunningly beautiful in pastel hues. William Playfair was the inventor of statistical graphs, and thus a pioneer in infographics and data visualization. "Playfair’s charts can thus be understood as a direct response to the profusion of knowledge and information that we associate with the Enlightenment specifically and with the eighteenth century more generally. This seeming explosion of information—the sheer proliferation of raw data—is, of course, what enables Playfair’s time-series graphs" (Sachs). Full text transcription available via Project Gutenberg: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/16575/16575-h/16575-h.htm

This unusual chart diagram combines several methods of information visualization. The heights of the world's mountains are shown more or less in the same manner as Smith's mountain charts (see our various copies). Superimposed on the mountains is a series of lines that represent latitude from 0 to 90 degrees north and south. Crossing the latitude lines are straight lines of varying thickness which show the appearance on earth of flora and fauna at various latitudes. The snowfall line is also shown. On the central axis elevations from 0 to 27,000 feet are listed. The whole effect is quite stunning and unlike anything we have seen. Smith credits the German scientists Johann Bernhard Wilbrand and Ferdinand August Max Franz von Ritgen as the source for the information in his diagram (although not the diagram itself, that appears to be uniquely Smith's creation) via their book published in 1928 "Ubersicht des Thierreiches nach naturlichen Abstufungen und Familien (Overview of the animal kingdom by the natural gradations and families). Smith's chart was accompanied by a translation of Wilbrand and Ritgen's book titled "Picture of Organized Nature, in its Spreading over the Earth. Translated from the German of Wilbrand & Ritgen," published by Smith in the same year, 1828. A copy of the book is online at https://archive.org/stream/pictureoforganiz00londrich