Thomas Gream (3 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. W.Faden London 1799.- copper engraved map with old hand colouring; overall size 37 x 80 cm; map size 36,5 x 79 cm.- A very detailed folding map of Sussex by Thomas Gream, published by W.Faden. 12 segments on linen, without slipcase.- paper cream coloured; some occasional discolouration; some faint foxing; top left corner missing but not affecting image; w/out slip case; o/w vg cond. - [ref: 3047 ].

No binding. Condition: Fair. 790 x 1915 mm., the whole, in four separate sheets, early outline colour, trimmed to the top and bottom borders, sheet 2 with tear upper left just into the image, repaired, a couple of areas of margin weakness otherwise a good example. This is one of the most important maps of Sussex and one of the rarest, here offered in the preferred sheet format rather than folding. It is the first map of the county to be based on a trigonometrical survey. Although the title credits William Gardner (1739-1800) and Thomas Yeakell (fl.1758-1787) as the mapmakers the influence of the Board of Ordnance was significant. The Master of the Board was the Duke of Richmond under whom the Ordnance Survey became fully operational in 1790. Both Yeakell and Gardner worked for it. Under the patronage of the Duke a map of Sussex by Yeakell and Gardner was announced in 1791. Unsurprisingly the map was a forerunner of the early Ordnance Survey maps. Published by William Faden this map won a Society of Arts Gold Medal in 1796. The 'Proposals' claim that 'every farm-house, barn and garden will have its place. Every enclosure with the nature of its fence whether bank, ditch, pale or wall, will be delineated.' This detail was the work of Thomas Gream (fl.1782-1809). This is an example of the third state of four dated 1795 according to Kingsley, the first being a proof example. On paper watermarked 'Pard 1794'. Baynton-Williams, Roger (1995) '200th birthday of Sussex map', in 'The Map Collector' no. 71 pp. 39-41; Kingsley (1982) 57.iii; Rodger (1972) 459.

London: William Faden, 1795. Fine original body colour. Four sheets, dissected and laid on linen in four sections, edged with silk as issued, each section 805 x 510mm. Some faint offset. A large and detailed map of Sussex, important as the first published map of the county using the Board of Ordnance trigonometrical survey. William Gardner (1739-1800) and Thomas Yeakell (1758-87) originally intended that their survey of Sussex to be on a scale of two inches to a mile, with the eight sheets to be published over six years from 1778. However they needed to sell at least 400 subscriptions to meet the estimated cost of £2,400 but only sold 250, meaning their enterprise folded after the fourth plate was published in 1783, leaving half the county unmapped. In 1787 Yeakell died and Gardner joined the Ordnance as Chief Surveying Draftsman, although he maintained his private practice. With the encouragement of the Master-General of the Ordnance (Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond), who allowed him access to William Mudge's trigonometrical survey, Gardner returned to his map of Sussex, working alongside surveyor Thomas Gream to complete it, although on a reduced scale. Their finished map was then engraved by Thomas Foot and published 1795 by William Faden, predating the first OS map (Kent) by six years. Not only did the map win Faden a gold medal from the Society of Arts, but it also became the template for other large scale county maps like the first Ordnance Survey maps and those of John & Christopher Greenwood. KINGSLEY: 57 state iii, same year as first state.