George Philip (1800-82) was born in Aberdeenshire and left in 1819 for Liverpool. He joined his brother who was a minister in the city. He began working with a bookseller before opening his own shop in 1834. His son George joined him in 1848. In 1865 the firm published in small folio Philips’ Atlas of the Counties of England. Presumably encouraged, the Philips’ Handy Atlas was published in 1873 in octavo format. It proved in more popular being issued on a virtual annual basis into the twentieth century.

The maps are the work of John George Bartholomew (1831-93). He was the inventor of layer colouring, which was first introduced in his maps in 1888. Many of them were first published separately with cover and accompanying text for school use. Many would be published in other works such as Directories. Three additional maps of the Isles of Wight, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are now included. A large index is also now provided. Provenance: with manuscript ownership inscription of ‘Rainsford May 1883’. Carroll (1996) 123; Smith (1985) pp. 147-9; Smith (1987); Smith (1988); Tooley’s Dictionary (1999-2004); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).