This large scale map of Wiltshire is one of three county surveys published by the partners John Andrews and Andrew Dury. The other counties were Hertfordshire published c.1766 and Kent in 1769. This, the last of their counties, was first published in 1773. All three were undertaken at the very large scale of TWO INCHES TO THE MILE, only a handful were published with this much detail in the eighteenth century. John Andrews (fl.1766-98) was a geographer, surveyor, engraver, and mapseller in London who is particularly well known for his fine collaborations with Andrew Dury (fl.1742-78). The latter is an under recognised publisher, printer, engraver, mapseller, and surveyor. He produced many detailed and significant maps of various parts of the world. The large scale of this map affords a level of detail seldom achieved in other large scale county surveys.

The ornate dedication cartouche to the landowners of the county was the designed by Giovanni Battista Cipriani and engraved by James Caldwell (1739-1822). The imprint of the second sheet bears a personal advert for Andrews outside the neatline with their imprint ‘NB The said Jon. Andrews, Surveys & neatly Draws, Noblemens & Gentlemens Estates Plans & c. on moderate Terms’. The final leaf bears the title and below an extensive list of subscribers. There are 80 names who acquired a total of 179 examples. The list includes several Dukes including the Duke of Marlborough, General Carleton, the Governor of Canada and Viscount Weymouth of Longleat who took 4 setts. The Duke of Queensberry of Amesbury and the Earl of Shelburne from Bowood, took 40 copies each. Provenance: private English collection. Kentish ‘Large Scale County Maps of England and Wales 1705-1832’, no. 62; Rodger (1972) 495; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).