Geological Map of England & Wales.

RAMSAY, Andrew C.

Published by LondonEdward Stanford 6 Charing Cross February 22nd ., 1859

About this Item

FIRST EDITION. Original lithographic map of England and Wales (98 x 84 cm) with fine contemporary hand-colouring, sectionalised and mounted onto linen, folding into original blue cloth slipcase stamped in blind and lettered in gilt, publisher's yellow adverts to two panels on verso. With six cross sections. Engraved by J. &. C. Walker. Discrete stamp of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a date of 1892 to upper corner just encroaching onto map. Lightly toned and some trivial signs of wear, some extensive archival tape repairs/strengthening to verso along folds, generally a very good example. A large, early hand-coloured geological map of Great Britain by Andrew Ramsay (1814 - 1891), who in 1862 became President of the Geological Society of London, and in 1872, succeeded Sir Roderick Murchison as Director-General of the Geological Survey. Several later editions were issued, this is the first issue published in 1859. Using colour to great effect, the image shows the geological substrata and relative age of England and Wales, listing over 25 individual types of surface that can be found below the surface of the island. One colour of particular importance was grey, which represented the great coal measures in southern Wales and northern England that powered much of the Industrial Revolution. Several profiles of various points along the coastline show the stratified nature of the underlying rock, but the theory of plate tectonics that allowed for such terrestrial construction wouldn't be proposed for another 50 years or so. Seller Inventory # 61955

Bibliographic Details

Title: Geological Map of England & Wales.

Publisher: LondonEdward Stanford 6 Charing Cross February 22nd .

Publication Date: 1859

Binding: Hardcover

Edition: 1st Edition