Christopher and John Greenwood
Cartographers
In the early 1800’s the Greenwood brothers were one on the
most prominent private firms of cartographers. Their partnership began in 1818
and from there they quickly became notable for their attempt to create maps for
every county in the country at a scale of one inch to the mile.
Previously maps, although often ornate and decorative, had
little accurate detail. They just gave basic details of towns, villages, roads
and any prominent features. C & J Greenwood filled a gap in the market for
more educated clientele who desired both accuracy and detail in a map but
without losing any of the attractive decorative qualities.
However, they had to compete with the officially funded publications
by the Board of Ordnance who were completing a national survey of all counties;
and swiftly producing maps at the same scale of one inch to the mile. Unfortunately
because of this Greenwood were unable to reach their target. Despite this all was not lost, since they
instead published a beautifully engraved ‘Atlas of the Counties of England.’
This was a very handsome work, often hand coloured with each map featuring a
vignette of an important building in the country.
Here at St Marys books we have a large selection of Greenwood maps from the original atlas. Please see the link below or feel free to come into the shop to have a browse. We can mount or frame any of these maps if you wish.