By the turn of the century the quarto sized ‘New and Correct English Atlas’ by John Cary (c.1754-1835) had proven to be a runaway success. He was well established and set about producing two folio atlases. Cary’s ‘New Universal Atlas’ of the world was begun in 1799 and completed in 1808. ‘Cary’s New English Atlas’ was issued in parts from 1801. The first part included three maps, those of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Lincolnshire. An early advert in Cary’s ‘New Itinerary’ of 1802 outlines the work; ‘A complete set of County Maps, Imperial sheet Size, on which are delineated those Roads which were measured By Order of the Right Hon. the Postmaster General; amounting in distances to upwards of 10,000 Miles … Of the same size, & as a Companion to the New General Atlas’.

The general title highlights Cary’s role and inclusion of the roads surveyed for the Postmaster General. It was priced at £8. 8s, half bound and in full colour or £7. 12s in outline colour. The beautifully engraved maps are largely derived from his earlier folio maps produced for Richard Gough’s edition of Camden’s ‘Britannia’ in 1789. They were updated to incorporate new survey work including several recent large-scale maps which had been published. The atlas contains a large Index to the cities, towns and ‘Places as are chargeable with Poor Rates’. For each location, the number of houses and population are recorded. Similarly, the sum of Poor Rates paid as recorded to Parliament for the year ended Easter 1803. Carroll (1996) no. 57; Chubb 333; Fordham (1925) pp. 82-5; Smith, David (1988); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).