This series of maps was first issued as The National Gazetteer in parts from 1863-68. It was then made available as a twelve volume work in 1868. Their next appearance was here in atlas form, with some accompanying descriptive text. William Hughes (1818-76) worked as a cataloguer at the British Museum on geography books from 1841-43. From 1863-75 he was a Professor of Geography at King’s College, London, and wrote several theoretical works on the subject. The founder of the publishing firm was George Virtue (c.1793-1868), whose company records show Hughes as a supplier of plates. The maps here are attractive and of individual counties with the exception of Scotland where they are grouped together in regions. Those of Ireland are individual. They are all derived from the Old Series One Inch Ordnance Survey. The map of the North Atlantic now acts as a frontispiece and the county maps begin with Northumberland working their way south to Cornwall. Beresiner (1983) p. 117; Carroll (1996) 126; refer Chubb (1927) 562; Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004).