A VERY RARE MAP. Little is known of Tuke in the carto-bibliographies other than that he was a land surveyor in York with printed maps issued between 1787 and 1798. Further research identifies the Tuke family as Quaker innovators. Members were behind what became the Rowntree’s Cocoa Works, the Retreat Mental Hospital and three Quaker schools. John Tuke (30 June 1759-19 January 1841) was the fourth born or five children to William Tuke (1732-1822) and Elizabeth Hoyland (1729-60). William Tuke was a tea merchant and grocer in York and a pioneer in work on mental health. Our John Tuke was born in Lincroft, Bishopshill, York and married Sarah Mildred (1762-1829), daughter of Daniel Mildred and Lydia Daniel, on 16 Apr 1783. They had eight children and he died in Bishophill, York. In 1787 he would publish two maps, one of the region of Holderness in Yorkshire, the other being a large four-sheet map of the whole county.

William Darton (1755-1819) was born in Tottenham, the son of the Innkeeper at The Coach and Six Horses. By 1791 he was in partnership with Josiah Harvey (1764-1841) as Darton & Harvey. Darton, a Quaker, was an engraver, bookseller, printer, publisher, mapseller and printseller, his earliest works appear to date from 1791. He is though most notable for his speciality as a pioneer of published children’s works.

This very rare separately published map is centred on the area surrounding Chesterfield. It extends from Leeds in the north to Loughborough in the south and from Sleaford and Lincoln in the east to Manchester, Nantwich and Stafford in the west. The Nottinghamshire Archives state, ‘This is the earliest of the cross-county maps for the North-East Midlands (later ones being William King’s ‘County around Belvoir’ of 1806 and George Sanderson’s ‘Twenty Miles Round Mansfield’ of 1835) … The map appears to be closely based on existing county maps, e.g., Chapman’s ‘Nottinghamshire’ of 1774, Burdett’s ‘Derbyshire’ of 1791 etc., but with some differences. Country houses and churches are appropriately shown, water mills are indicated by wheel symbols and windmills by crossed feathers. Turnpike roads are shown by solid lines and the mileages indicated. Woodland, parks and open commons are all marked …’ British Library Maps K.Top.6.79; Eden (1975); Rodger (1972) 516; not in Tooley (1984) ‘Large Scale … Derby’; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).