Lot 120
Scotland
Atlases and Topographical Works, 19th century
Auction: 16 June 2026 from 10:00 BST
Description
[Thomson, John]. The Atlas of Scotland: Containing Maps of Each County. Edinburgh: printed for John Thomson & Co., 1832. First edition, folio (54.6 x 39cm), 20th-century half calf binding with original leather spine label, lacking title page which is supplied in facsimile, hand-coloured double page panoramas of Principal Mountains and of Principal Rivers, hand-coloured index map, 58 double-page hand-coloured engraved maps, panorama of Principal Mountains torn with paper repair, a few small repairs to preliminary text leaves and margins of maps, dedication leaf browned and stained, light spotting on maps;
Drummond, James. Old Edinburgh. Edinburgh & London: G. Waterston, Sons, & Stewart, 1879. First edition, one of 500 copies, large folio (52 x 39cm), original quarter morocco, 103 tinted lithographic plates on 80 sheets, binding worn at extremities, light spotting to front free endpapers;
Hall, Sidney & Hughes,[William]. Black's General Atlas. Edinburgh: published Adam & Charles Black, 1851. Folio (44 x 31.5cm), contemporary half morocco, printed title and index, 52 of the 60 listed maps present (lacking plates 1 and 3(2)), plates 12-3, 15-6, 21-2, 27-8, 29-30, 31-2, 47-8 have been replaced by double-page maps covering the same geographic area, possibly from a later edition) engraved maps with contemporary hand colouring, binding worn and stained, inner margins of double-page plates reinforced with linen;
and 6 others (12)
Provenance
From the collection of the late Professor Roland Paxton MBE FICE FRSE (1932-2025), 'Britain's foremost historian of civil engineering' (Telegraph, obituary, 12th November 2025); Professor Paxton was also a leading conservationist of Britain's engineering heritage, and led successful campaigns to restore two of the world's most important railway structures, the Laigh Milton Viaduct in Ayrshire, the world's oldest surviving railway bridge, and the Union Chain Bridge, the world's oldest suspension bridge still carrying road traffic.