Original hand coloured engraved decorative folding map of the County of Worcestershire. Original wash colour to the hundreds and original outline colouring. This map was published in 1835 and was also included in the atlas, The Counties of England: with General Maps of North and South Wales; the republished and revised edition of a previous atlas Darton published in 1822.
Thomas Dix (c1769-1813) worked as a Surveyor in Norfolk. In 1805 he published A Treatise on the Construction and Copying of all kinds of Maps. Dix’s series of maps are finely engraved with decorative vignettes and were closely copied from Robert Rowe’s maps published in 1812. Dix is not known for any other works but his maps appeared in atlas form in A Complete Altas of the English counties…Commenced by the Late Thomas Dix of North Walsham; carried on and completed by William Darton, London published by William Darton Jr in 1822. The maps were also sold by Darton, as individual folding county maps dissected into twelve sections and backed onto linen or canvas and bound with Darton and Son’s own titled boards. Each individual map could be purchased; coloured on a sheet for 1s; and in a case, coloured for 2s.6d.; on Canvas, Roller, and Varnished, 4s.6d. This map was also included in Darton’s second iteration of Dix’ atlas published in 1835, titled The Counties of England: with General maps of North and South Wales.
William Darton (1781-1854) was an English publisher and engraver active in Tottenham London during the early part of the 19th century. Darton was the eldest son of William Darton Sr, himself a printer and publisher who co-owned the firm of Harvey and Darton. Darton, a Quaker was educated at the Friends School in Clerkenwell, London and Ackworth School in Yorkshire. Afterwards, Darton Jr was apprenticed to his father where he mastered the art of printing and engraving. Around1804, William Darton Jr opened his own shop, The Repertory of Genius, specializing in maps, prints, children’s books, educational publications, and other works of merit at 50 Holborn Hill, London. Cartographically, Darton’s most significant contribution is his 1823 publication, along with engraver W R Gardner, of the first composite comparative mountains and rivers chart. Darton also published various maps for the 1802 Atlas to Walker’s Geography and his own atlas in 1813 titled the Union Atlas. As mentioned, he also published posthumously, Thomas’ Dix’s, A Complete Altas of the English Counties…in 1822. A further atlas was issued in 1835 entitled The Counties of England: with General maps of North and South Wales using Dix’s plates. (This atlas was published without the cartouches and the titles of each map were engraved in the body of the map).
Individual maps from both of the 1822 atlas and the 1835 atlas were also issued separately as loose sheet, folding maps, laid on linen and bound within Darton’s sons titled boards.
Darton retired in 1851 leaving his business to his son, John Maw Darton, who partnered with Samuel Clark and published under the name Darton and Clark.
