Often thought of as mere publishers, Robert Laurie (1755-1836) was a noted craftsman. He was a talented mezzotint engraver who invented a method of mezzotint printing in colour, an achievement that won him an award from the Royal Society of Arts in 1776. In the early 1790s he entered the publishing business with James Whittle (1757-1818) as his partner. The acquisition of Sayer’s stock catapulted them into the major league.

In 1806, they published a road book entitled ‘Laurie and Whittle’s New Traveller’s Companion’ which included road maps. It was originally thought that in the following year this work was published having just acquired the Baker plates of the English counties. The two were clearly meant to complement each other in their stock. Then in 2003 an example dated 1806 on the title page appeared at auction. It remains the only example traced. Three further maps were supplied including the general map dated 1801 by Laurie and Whittle, an apparently new plate of the Isle of Wight engraved by Baker dated 1806 and a general map of Yorkshire to complement those of the Ridings also dated 1806.

The descriptions include a wealth of information including the population data gathered by the Government in 1801. An interesting note on the Explanation states ‘The connection of the Turnpike Roads from one County to another, are shown by Reference Letters’. This feature was of course first introduced by John Cary in 1793. Provenance: Donald Hodson collection (1933-2016), carto-bibliographer. Beresiner (1983) p. 50; Carroll (1996) 53; Chubb (1927) 294; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).