''Britannia Depicta'' was an illustrated road atlas for Britain. It was printed in numerous editions over many decades from 1720 into the 19th century and updated with engravings by many artisans who worked from drawings of other artists. It featured

strip map A straight-line diagram (abbreviated SLD) is a diagram of a road where the road is shown as a straight line. Such diagrams are usually produced by a highway department, and display features along the road, including bridges and intersecting roa ...

Bodleian Libraries, The Road from Bristol to Banbury

The atlas was based on the earlier work of

John Ogilby John Ogilby (also ''Ogelby'', ''Oglivie''; November 1600 – 4 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario and cartographer. Best known for publishing the first British road atlas, he was also a successful translator, noted for publishi ...

who published the first British road atlas in 1675. ''Britannia Depicta'' was printed in 1720 by Emanuel Bowen and John Owen's firm Bowen & Owen. It was one of Bowen's earliest works. A road atlas, it contains two hundred and seventy three road maps along with drawings of landmarks and miniature county maps of each of the counties of England and Wales. It followed on John Ogilby's original with updated style of historical and heraldic detail. It was an unusual feature of the atlas that the maps were engraved on both sides of each page, and this resulted in a handier-sized book.

Cadell & Davies editions

Cadell & Davies published its own editions of the ''Britannia Depicta'' atlas over many years, with accompanying descriptions by

Samuel Lysons Samuel Lysons (1763 – June 1819) was an English antiquarian and engraver who, together with his elder brother Daniel Lysons (1762–1834), published several works on antiquarian topics. He was one of the first archaeologists to investigate ...

. Engraved plates for their Britannia Depicta are dated 1803–1818. The Quarterly Review of 1816 reported it was ordered along with '' Magna Britannia''. View from Matlock13030

Landscapes by

Joseph Farington Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist. Life and work Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His ...

were included in Cadell and Davies' six-volume "modernisation" of the illustrated atlas. His contributions include topographical ''Views in Cornwall'' (1814) and other views. He also depicted Devon for a 7th edition and had his drawings engraved but they were never published.

Engravers

Engravers who worked on the Cadell & Davies editions include: *

William Angus (engraver) William Angus (–12 October 1821) was an English engraver of copper plates for prints and book illustrations. Life and work William Angus was born in 1752. He became a master engraver. Among his pupils was the engraver William Bernard Cooke (17 ...

1752–1821 * M. S. Barenger *

John Byrne (engraver) John Byrne (1786–1847) was an English painter and engraver. He came from a family of artists and he lived with his sister Elizabeth Byrne who also exhibited her landscapes. Life He was the only son of engraver William Byrne (engraver), William ...

, 1786–1847 *

Letitia Byrne Letitia Byrne (1779–1849) was a British engraver. Life She was born on 24 November 1779, presumably in London, being the third daughter of William Byrne, engraver, and the sister of Anne Frances Byrne. As a pupil of her father, she exhibit ...

1779–1849 *

William Byrne (engraver) William Byrne (1743–1805) was a British engraver. Life Byrne was born in London in 1743. After studying some time under his uncle, an artist little known, he went to Paris, where he became a pupil of Aliamet, and afterwards of Wille. As well ...

1743–1805 *

George Cooke (engraver) George Cooke (22 January 1781 – 27 February 1834), was an English line engraver. Life and work Cooke was born in London in 1781. His father was a native of Frankfurt, Germany, who in early life settled in England and became a wholesale confect ...

1781–1834 * Frederick Rudolph Hay 1784–? *

John Landseer John Landseer (1762/3? – 20 February 1852) was an English landscape engraver. Birth Landseer was born in Lincoln in 1769, according to Cosmo Monkhouse, or in London in 1761, according to his son Edwin's biographer, F.G. Stephens. Howev ...

1769–1852 *

Samuel Middiman Samuel Middiman (1750–1831) was an English engraver. Life He first appeared as an exhibitor of landscape drawings at the Incorporated Society of Artists in 1772 and following years, and in 1780 he exhibited drawings at the Royal Academy. He stu ...

ca. 1750–1831 *

James Neagle James Neagle (1760?–1822) was a British engraver. Very largely a line engraver of book illustrations, he was prolific of designs by Thomas Stothard, Robert Smirke (painter), Robert Smirke, Henry Fuseli, Gavin Hamilton (artist), Gavin Hamilton, H ...

1760?–1822 *

Charles Pye (engraver) Charles Pye Jr. (Birmingham 1777–1864) was a British engraver from Birmingham. He illustrated topographical subjects, and published a ''Holy Family'' after Michelangelo. Life Pye was the elder son of Charles Pye Sr. (see below), an engraver ...

1777–1864 *

John Pye John Pye (Birmingham 7 November 1782 – 6 February 1874 London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands ...

1782–1874 *

John Scott (engraver) John Scott (1774–1827) was an English engraver, known for his work on topics showing animals. Life He was born on 12 March 1774 at Newcastle-on-Tyne, where his father, John Scott, worked in a brewery. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to ...

1774–1827 *

Thomas Woolnoth Thomas Alfred Woolnoth (1785–1857) was an English engraver. He was known for his portraits of theatre people. He also painted, and engraved works of Correggio and Van Dyck. Woolnoth was engraver to Queen Victoria. His work was also included in Ca ...

, 1785–1857 *

William Woolnoth William Woolnoth (1780–1837) was an engraver. He was one of the engravers whose work was included in Cadell and Davies ''Britannia depicta''. He did engravings of work by artists such as Thomas Mann Baynes, Robert Blemmell Schnebbelie, Frederick ...

1780–1837

Illustrators

Illustrations in the Cadell & Davies editions were made by artists including: *

William Alexander William or Bill Alexander may refer to: Literature *William Alexander (poet) (1808–1875), American poet and author * William Alexander (journalist and author) (1826–1894), Scottish journalist and author *William Alexander (author) (born 1976), ...

1767–1816 * John Byrne 1786–1847 *

1747–1821 * Thomas Hearne 1744–1817 * Frederick Nash 1782–1856 * John Powell, 1780-ca. 1833 * Robert Smirke 1752–1845 * John Smith (perhaps John Raphael Smith?) * William Turner *

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...

(Joseph Mallord William), 1775–1851 *

John Varley John Varley may refer to: * John Varley (canal engineer) (1740–1809), English canal engineer * John Varley (painter) (1778–1842), English painter and astrologer * John Varley (author) (born 1947), American science fiction author * John Silvest ...

1778–1842 * Thomas Webster 1800–1886

References

{{Reflist Maps of the United Kingdom 18th century in transport 18th-century books