The ‘New and Correct English Atlas’ by John Cary (c.1754-1835) first published in 1787 was constantly amended with new road information. Cary is noted for the clarity of detail in his maps and was the first to use the Greenwich meridian. An innovative feature he introduced was to place a letter at the exit point of a road from the county. This letter would correspond to that found on the neighbouring county. This was an early form of numbering the roads. By 1809 the plates to the county maps were quite worn and an entirely new set were engraved. It is as far as I am aware the only case where a complete set of engraved maps had to be replaced due to wear. It is a measure of the success of the atlas. This was to continue to at least 1875 when at this time the plates were in the hands of George Cruchley. This is an example of the 1818 edition by Cary. Provenance: bookplate of Frederick Gwatkin, Lincoln’s Inn, preserved; private English collection. Carroll 65.2; Chubb 266; Fordham (1925) p. 24; refer Hodson 286; Smith ‘The Map Collector’ 43 pp. 40-47.