Clive A. Burden LTD. Rare Maps, Antique Atlases, Books and Decorative Prints

The Mapping of North America

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A caricature map of Wales reflecting the perspective of Victorian Britain. It appeared in a work by William Harvey (1796-1873) who used the pseudonym ‘Aleph’. He was a doctor and active journalist for the City Press who wrote on London and the author of London Scenes and London People published in 1863. In his introduction he writes how the maps were drawn by a fifteen year old girl for the amusement of her sick brother. Her identity has since been identified as Lillian Lancaster, born Eliza Jane Lancaster in 1852 (d.1939) in London. She most likely met Dr. William Harvey through her family in Islington. She went on to the stage as a pantomime artist, comedy actress and singer. The idea apparently came from an earlier drawing of England represented by Punch riding on a dolphin. Their intent was not just entertainment but also educational as the introduction states ‘no history no journal can be understood without acknowledge of maps, and good services is done when we make such information more easy and agreeable’. Provenance: Joanna Booth 1990; private collection. Barron http://barronmaps.com/lilian-lancaster-1852-1939/; Slowther, Catherine ‘The Map Collector’ no. 16 pp. 48-50.
HARVEY, William

Wales

Hodder and Stoughton, London, [1869]
275 x 205 mm., chromolithographic anthropomorphic caricature map, light foxing as often, otherwise a good example.
Stock number: 10660
£ 350
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