Henry Teesdale (fl.1828-45) was a successful publisher in London and is best known for two English County atlases. In 1829 he acquired the county plates to Robert Rowe’s exceedingly rare English Atlas and after revision, published them as the New British Atlas in 1829. Encouraged by its undoubted success, he embarked on a reduced sized county atlas which he published the following year entitled A New Travelling Atlas. In this work the roads are made the principal feature.

The engraved title page bears an attractive vignette above the imprint displaying five cherubs being educated in geography. The maps bear a distinct piano keyboard design for a border. For some reason it was not a great success, at least judging from the fact that only five examples survive. For the second edition in 1843, plate numbers were added, as were railways in the counties where they had been introduced. Chubb pointed out that the Cambridge map bears the London to Cambridge Railway, which was officially opened July 1845. This later title page bears across the top ‘This Edition Contains All The Railways’. We have identified two issues of this edition, this being the earlier one. The later issue bears the latest railways added to several maps. Only A HANDFUL OF EXAMPLES survive. Provenance: Bonhams 29 September 1999 lot 923 where it was unsold; Bloomsbury Auction 21 March 2012; private English collection. Burgess (2009) no. 124.ii; Carroll (1996) no. 92.2; refer Chubb (1927) no. 418; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).