‘The Weekly Dispatch’ was published between the years 1801 and 1928, but from 1856 to 1862 each edition included a map of a part of the world. Those of England were derived from the Ordnance Survey. The engravers varied but included John Dower and Edward Weller. ‘The Dispatch Atlas’ was published in 1863 which contained the complete series of maps published to date, including the set of English county maps. It could be ordered in one, two or three volumes, here it is bound in one. This was so that it could be divided geographically if desired.

Amongst its contents are a set of English county maps, the full complement of major railways, the Agas plan of London, and the magnificent nine sheet plan of London amongst others. The latter was drawn on a large scale of nine inches to the mile. Several town plans are included both in Britain and around the world. A series of maps of the American Civil War are also included.

In 1864 the stones passed to the publishers Cassell, Petter and Galpin who re-issued them as ‘Cassell’s Complete Atlas’ in c.1865 with 260 maps. John Cassell came from abject poverty in the north of England and soon became a supporter of the teetotal movement. The publishing firm founded in 1848 is still a going concern as Cassell & Co. Provenance: Donald Hodson collection (1933-2016), carto-bibliographer. Beresiner (1983) pp. 85-7; Carroll (1996) no. 120; Hyde (1975) 73.(6).