Comprehensive Atlas - Thomas Gamaliel Bradford - Bauman Rare Books

Comprehensive Atlas

Thomas Gamaliel BRADFORD

Item#: 67071 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Comprehensive Atlas

Comprehensive Atlas

Comprehensive Atlas

Comprehensive Atlas

BRADFORD’S COMPREHENSIVE ATLAS, 1835, WITH 66 COLOR-OUTLINED FOLIO MAPS, 19 OF THE UNITED STATES

BRADFORD, Thomas Gamaliel. A Comprehensive Atlas, Geographical, Historical & Commercial. Boston: William D. Ticknor, 1835. Folio (11 by 13-1/2 inches), original marbled boards rebacked in three-quarter green close-grain morocco, raised bands, original spine label laid down.

First edition of “one of the first American general atlases to supplement the maps with lengthy geographical descriptions” (Ristow, 271), with hand-colored frontispiece “The Five Varieties of the Human Race,” 66 detailed color-outlined maps (19 of the United States) and ten engraved diagrams.

Thomas Bradford served as assistant editor of the American Encyclopedia before entering the arena of atlas publishing. This, his first atlas, is a modified version of Adrian Balbi's Abrégé de Géographie (1832), made up of 66 full-page, color-outlined maps based on the most up-to-date information available at the time. Although the maps are unsigned, they were probably engraved by G.W. Boynton of Boston, who did the engraving for Bradford's Illustrated Atlas (1838). Unlike most atlases of the period, Bradford's includes an extensive descriptive text— 172 pages. Each engraving is accompanied by explanatory articles on the history, economics and geography of the area, as well as contemporary statistical data. Sabin 7260. See Martin & Martin 31; Phillips 770.

Moderate scattered foxing to margins, occasionally affecting image. Near-fine condition.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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