John Bartholomew (1831-93) was one of a number of family members of one of the most active cartographic publishers in England. The firm, founded in 1784, would be by the end of the nineteenth century involved in numerous fields. They were active until the Second World War. The maps in this atlas are similar to those he produced for ‘Philips’ Handy Atlas’, 1873, although a comparison shows these have more detail. This series was also incorporated in to the ninth edition of the ‘Encyclopedia Britannica. The Handy Atlas’ was their only other use. Beresiner p.52-3; Carroll 137 B.