The plates for this atlas were first issued in Thomas Read’s very rare ‘English Traveller’ published in 1746 in only three volumes, the work was never completed. Jean Rocque (c.1704-62), to use his native name, was a Huguenot émigré who at an early age settled in England. By 1734 he was a surveyor, engraver and publisher. His work is renowned for its beauty as well as its accuracy and several important large scale maps were produced by him. Although undated there is plenty of evidence to place the first edition of John Rocque’s ‘Small British Atlas’ in 1753. Three issues of ‘The Small British Atlas’ were published at this time, two of which are extremely rare.

The next edition was dated 1762 and re-used the earlier engraved title page rather than a typographic one. According to Hodson this 1764 edition should retain the plate numbers but, in some cases, they have been erased. The final issue of these plates is in this state which was the work of P. Russell and Owen Price entitled ‘England Displayed’ in 1769. This therefore may represent a late issue of the 1764. It is bound with the maps from Thomas Salmon’s ‘A New Geographical and Historical Grammar’ engraved by Thomas Jefferys. The Rocque atlas is advertised on the title priced at 7s. 6d. for uncoloured copies, coloured were offered for 10s. 6d. Chubb (1927) 209; not in ESTC; Hodson (1984-97) 202; not in BL, refer Shirley (2004) T.Rocq 1a, G.Salm 3a (foreign atlas); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).