Separately issued, folding map of the County of Edinburgh also known as Edinburghshire of Midlothian.

This splendid map of the historical county of Edinburghshire or Midlothian focuses on the city of Edinburgh and its environs. It was published by the firm of Sharp, Greenwood and Fowler in London. This was one of several partnerships which were part of Christopher Greenwood’s network of contacts within the map trade, as he attempted to promote and sell his series of magnificent county folding wall maps of Georgian England.

This map of Edinburghshire seems to be a departure for Greenwood and although it states that it was taken from a survey of 1827-8, it bears a marked resemblance to the survey first performed by James Knox for John Thomson’s Atlas of Scotland. That map was published 1821-2 although Knox’s original survey is dated to 1812. As is usually the case with Greenwood maps, it is beautifully engraved in the style of the day, focusing on topography, the early road network and the extraordinary detail characteristic to regional English and Scottish maps of the period. Scotland was undergoing a cultural renaissance at this time, with Edinburgh leading the advance, hence its nickname, “the Athens of the North”. The calligraphy on the cartouche and the dedication on the upper and lower left is particularly fine.

Although this map is present in several public collections in Scotland, it seems to be rare in the commercial market. Original colour. [SCOT1886]