Bidspirit auction | Kitchin, Large Folio - Map

Kitchin, Large Folio - Map of Africa - This exceptional map is from Thomas Kitchin's A General Atlas describing the whole Universe... The work was published by Robert Sayer in London. There was no date to the title page but the work was published from 1770s to 1790s. There was a note to the title suggesting publication is circa 1780. 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. 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. Provenance: From the Library of Stevenson Lighthouse Engineers