When John Bennett joined with Robert Sayer in partnership in 1774 it brought a new lease of life to the business. The plates from Thomas Jefferys ‘Small English Atlas’ were reissued with a short descriptive text. They recognised that the available county atlases of Scotland and Ireland were at least a generation old, those of Moll’s being first issued in 1725 and 1728 respectively. The Irish atlas appeared first using the talents of Bernard Scale in 1776. Hodson highlights the significance of the atlas ‘the rococo decoration characteristic of the work of Emanuel Bowen and Thomas Kitchin has disappeared from the maps: the new style, with its neo-classical influences, is simple and unadorned, almost austere.’

For the Scottish atlas Sayer and Bennett brought in the talents of Mostyn John Armstrong (fl.1769-91). He was the son of Andrew Armstrong; both were cartographers although only the son published any atlas. Their focus was on Scottish related material with the notable exception of three large scale county maps of Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk. As a young man Mostyn John Armstrong assisted his father Andrew Armstrong in the production of the large-scale map of Northumberland published in 1769. In 1775 he produced a map of Peeblesshire and in the following year the ‘Actual Survey of the Great Post Roads between London and Edinburgh’.

The ‘Scotch Atlas’ contained 2 general maps, one of the environs of Edinburgh, and 27 maps of the counties. The plates were engraved by Harry Ashby in the new simpler style of the period as encompassed by John Cary. The maps are based on the landmark work of James Dorret published in 1750. In 1781 Bennett began to show signs of insanity and ‘in 1783 was admitted to Dr. Thomas Monro’s asylum in Clapton. In June 1784 Sayer brought a case to dissolve the partnership and Bennett’s name disappeared from the imprint after 1785’ (Worms & Baynton-Williams). This second edition ensued in 1787 with Sayer’s imprint alone. It was otherwise unchanged. One further edition was published in 1794 by Laurie and Whittle. Either of the first two editions are particularly scarce.

This atlas once belonged to General Sir James Fergusson, K.G.C.B. (1787-1865), who served in the Peninsular Wars and was consistently promoted for action and bravery, ultimately becoming Major-General in 1841. He was made Governor of Gibraltar in 1855. Provenance: bookplate of General Sir James Fergusson inside front cover along with his inscription dated 1860 on first free endpaper; private English collection. Chubb 19; ESTC T194012; Moir (1973) I p. 94, 118-20 & II p. 153 no. 6A; Shirley (2004) T.Arm 3c; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).