An example of the first volume only of the second edition of the ‘Guide to Knowledge’. The maps are unique amongst county atlases in that they are incised into the woodblock so that upon printing the image is white on a black background. They were the work of Joshua Archer and Sidney Hall both active engravers in the field of map production. The editor of the work was William Pinnock and it was issued weekly. By the time it finished the work contained 43 maps of the counties, 11 British town plans, 32 of the countries of the world and 1 view of Sydney. This example is dated 1838. A lithographic transfer was taken from these blocks later in their life and used in the production of the rare ‘Johnson’s Atlas of England’, 1847. Provenance: private English collection. Beresiner p. 181; Carroll 98; not in Chubb.