Robert Morden was by 1701 a successful publisher on the London scene. His most notable cartographic contribution to date was arguably the county maps for Gibson’s edition of Camden’s ‘Britannia’ in 1695. A smaller more manageable atlas seemed to be called for and in 1701 he teamed up with Thomas Cockeril and Ralph Smith to produce ‘The New Description and State of England’. Morden contributed 54 small maps known as miniature Morden’s. The work was issued in oblong quarto as here and octavo, and re-published similarly in 1704. This example curiously lacks a title but there is no evidence to show that one was present. A manuscript title is in its place which reads “A Map of the Roads of England & of every County thereof. Before wch. is prefixid the names of such families as have bin Duks or Earls of the severall Counties”. There are several ensuing pages of manuscript notations ending with a list of income by the Exchequer from Land Tax by county. The total is £1,444,015. It goes on to note ‘By this Calculation it appears that London Westmr. and the Dist of Middlisix pays about a Tenth part of the Land Tax of the whole Kingdom’, some politics never changes! Provenance: ‘Ex Lib Tho. Adamson’ in manuscript below the title. Skelton 123.