152. Edward Weller / William Collins 1875

William Collins¹ (1789-1853), first member of Britain's first Temperance Society, founded his publishing company primarily to publish the works of the great Scottish cleric Dr Charles Chalmers. His son, William II (1817-95) became a partner in 1843 (and was knighted 1881) and grandson William III (1846-1906) continued the firm which still survives today. As early as 1827 William Collins was touring Devon and selling atlases. Collins issued books and maps designed for use in schools and in 1856 the company produced its first atlas.

Edward Weller, engraver of the successful Weekly Dispatch plates (136), engraved new plates, c.1875, for William Collins‘ set of County Geographies which were edited by W Lawson (Devon was written by the Rev. C S Dawe) and produced county by county (although Lancashire was by Bartholomew).

The map was first used in a small school primer which probably sold at twopence a copy. The map later appeared in  directories published by Percy and Co., before Collins exploited the maps in an Atlas of England And Wales in 1877. Then in 1878 Collins produced a number of regional atlases: each volume contained sixteen maps, grouped into sets, with each set bound into a paper cover printed with county plans for parts of Great Britain. Devon is on the same buff coloured sheet as Somerset with a coloured map of Cornwall on the reverse.

Size: 206  x 158 mm.                                                                                                                                          English Miles (10 = 21 mm).

DEVONSHIRE. No imprint² . Signature: Edwd Weller. (EeOS). Railways; Tiverton, Paignton, Plymouth-Launceston, Moreton Hampstead, Seaton, Torrington, Watchet, Exmouth, Barnstaple-Taunton and Okehampton. Plain border broken at Lyme Regis. Coloured to show Parliamentary Divisions (N, S and E).