Lot 181: BICKHAM, GEORGE

A Short Description of the American Colonies; belonging to the Crown of Great Britain. London: Published according to an Act of Parliament, 19 Dec[embe]r 1747, [colophon date: 1749]

Folio (12 3/8 x 7 1/2 in.; 315 x 190 mm.). Entirely engraved on 27 plates numbered 164 - 190, extra-illustrated with Bickham's folding engraved "Map of the King's Dominions in Europe, Africa and America"; hole in gutter margin of first ten leaves skilfully mended without affecting image, some marginal soiling and spotting. Three-quarter calf and marbled boards.

LITERATURE

Alden-Landis 749/28; JCB (3) III: 895

NOTE

beautifully engraved introduction to the american colonies of britain, issued separately and as part of the author's The British Monarchy, or A ... description of ... the British isles, the American Colonies, which first appeared in 1743. The plates consist of general remarks on the geography of the American colonies accompanied by quaint vignettes emblematic of each.

The present copy consists of the usual plates 165 - 185, with the added title page (164), and 5 additional plates describing British holdings in Germany, Africa, India, and two plates of calligraphic examples of Bickham's skill. The folding map ought to appear after plate 7 in the first part of the work, but here makes a fitting frontispiece introducing the whole. "Copies of this work are frequently made up of various editions" (Alden-Landis 743/27).