Sheet 61ne /se and 62nw/sw, Old Series 1" maps joined. 1865-85. Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire

Sheet  61ne /se and 62nw/sw, Old Series 1" maps joined. 1865-85. Shropshire, Worcestershire, Staffordshire: Dudley, Wolverhampton, Coalbrookdale, Ironbridge, Bridgnorth, Walsall. Hand-coloured engraving, 70.5 x 86cm. Some dates trimmed in the joining. Topography from 61se is 1833, geology from 61se is 1855, from 62sw 1885. Issue date on both 61ne and 62nw is 1900. Cut, mounted on linen, and folded to 35 x 21.5cm between marbled card covers. Linen is worn but still sound. Soiled, age-toned. Dull colours. Very worn and much used by Wolverhampton Corporation Water Works employees. Numerous water wells neatly drawn and labelled. In fair condition.

About the England & Wales One Inch Old Series

The Geological Survey of England and Wales used the Old Series of the Ordnance Survey topographic map at a scale of one inch to the mile as its basemap, initially. These engraved basemaps were published and revised between 1805 and 1885; the sheet sizes varied and the layout and numbering system were eccentric. The Old Series geological maps were hand-coloured and without geological sections, which were published separately. The GS of E&W published the Old Series from 1850 to 1900, when it switched to the colour printing and the New Series one inch maps. However, old stock of the Old Series continued to be issued, hand-coloured, until the 1930s.

See also: Index Map for England & Wales One Inch Old Series.