Robert Morden (c. 1650 – 1703) was an English bookseller, publisher, and mapmaker, globemaker and engraver.
He was among the first successful commercial map makers.
Between about 1675 and his death in 1703, he was based under the sign of the Atlas at premises in
Cornhill and New
Cheapside
Cheapside is a street in the City of London, the historic and modern financial centre of London, which forms part of the A40 London to Fishguard road. It links St. Martin's Le Grand with Poultry. Near its eastern end at Bank junction, where ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. His
cartographical
Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...
output was large and varied. His best-known maps are those of South Wales, North Wales and the English Counties first published in a new edition of
William Camden
William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Ann ...
's
''Britannia'' in 1695, and subsequently reissued in 1722, 1753 and 1772. These maps were based on new information from gentlemen of each county, and were newly engraved. Each had a decorated
cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the fea ...
, and showed numerous place names. Morden also produced in 1701 a series of smaller county maps often known as Miniature Mordens.
In 1695 he published a map of Scotland. It is in parts (e.g. Skye and the Western Isles) essentially a copy of the 1654 map done by
Robert Gordon of Straloch, published by
Joan Blaeu
Joan Blaeu (; 23 September 1596 – 21 December 1673) was a Dutch cartographer born in Alkmaar, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu.
Life
In 1620, Blaeu became a doctor of law but he joined the work of his father. In 1635, they publish ...
; other parts show evidence of more accurate cartography.
His (fourth edition) of ''Geography Rectified: or a Description of the World'' from 1700 dedicated to a Thomas Goddard, is a comprehensive work from many aspects. It has more than 700 pages, including a long pedagogic preface, no fewer than 78 maps from Europe including the British Isles, Asia, Africa, America and a two circular maps of the world, representing planet Earth seen from exactly opposite sides – the known world as of its time. (Australia was not yet known in Europe by then; Antarctica was not known anywhere.) It further contains explanations of many general geographical concepts such as
Latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
and
Longitude
Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...
and more. It also contains several comparisons of commodities, customs, history, governments, coins and weights (etc) "with those in London". Its index is extensive. A copy has been kept at the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
for more than a century.
He published a new map of the
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
homeland, Coylot Wanees Country, in 17th-century
Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
He is also known for several very rare early maps of the
British colonies in North America
British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
, which are now among the earliest and most sought-after maps for collectors of old American maps. He also produced a series of miniature maps of the world, which appeared in both playing-card format and in a series of atlases, including his ''Atlas Terrestris'' and ''Geography Anatomiz'd'', beginning in 1687.
Morden was a member of the guild
The Worshipful Company of Weavers. He was an apprentice of
Joseph Moxon
Joseph Moxon (8 August 1627 – February 1691), hydrographer to Charles II, was an English printer specialising in mathematical books and maps, a maker of globes and mathematical instruments, and mathematical lexicographer. He produced the ...
, hydrographer to
Charles II. Apprentices who trained under Morden include Mary Ward in 1674,
Philip Lea in 1675 and Margaret Wearg in 1675.
County Maps
The links below are to images of Morden's county maps as published in 1722 (
''Britannia'' Volume 1 & Volume 2
). It is noted in the Preface that the maps had been revised since their first publication in 1695, with place-name spellings adjusted where they 'did not answer either the way of ''writing'' or the ''common way'' of ''pronouncing'' among the People'.
Bedfordshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Bedfordshire
Berkshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Berkshire
Buckinghamshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Cambridgeshire
Cheshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Cheshire
Cornwall-Morden-1695.jpg, Cornwall
Cumberland-Morden-1695.jpg, Cumberland
Derbyshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Derbyshire
Devon-Morden-1695.jpg, Devon
Dorset-Morden-1695.jpg, Dorset
Durham-Morden-1695.jpg, Durham
Essex-Morden-1695.jpg, Essex
Gloucestershire-Morden-1695.jpg, Gloucestershire
Hampshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Hampshire
Herefordshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Herefordshire
Hertfordshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Hertfordshire
Huntingdonshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Huntingdonshire
Kent-Morden-1695.jpg, Kent
Lancashire-Morden-1695.jpg, Lancashire
Leicestershire-Morden-1695.jpg, Leicestershire
Lincolnshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Lincolnshire
Middlesex-Morden-1695.jpg, Middlesex
Monmouthshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Monmouthshire
Norfolk-Morden-1695.jpg, Norfolk
Northamptonshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Northamptonshire
Northumberland-Morden-1695.jpg, Northumberland
Nottinghamshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Oxfordshire
Rutland-Morden-1695.jpg, Rutland
Shropshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Shropshire
Somerset-Morden-1695.jpg, Somerset
Staffordshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Staffordshire
Suffolk-Morden-1695.jpg, Suffolk
Surrey-Morden-1695.jpg, Surrey
Sussex-Morden-1695.jpg, Sussex
Wales (North)-Morden-1695.jpg, Wales (North)
Wales (South)-Morden-1695.jpg, Wales (South)
Warwickshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Warwickshire
Westmorland-Morden-1695.jpg, Westmorland
Wiltshire-Morden-1695.jpg, Wiltshire
Worcestershire-Morden-1695.jpg, Worcestershire
Yorkshire (East Riding)-Morden-1695.jpg, Yorkshire (East Riding)
Yorkshire (North Riding)-Morden-1695.jpg, Yorkshire (North Riding)
Yorkshire (West Riding)-Morden-1695.jpg, Yorkshire (West Riding)
References
External links
Map of Scotland National Library of Scotland
''A new map of New England, New York, New Iarsey, Pensilvania, Maryland and Virginia'' on
Gallica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morden, Robert
English cartographers
1650s births
1703 deaths
17th-century cartographers
17th-century English people