Sheet 79ne, Old Series 1". 1884 drift. First drift edition. Colour proof copy. Flintshire, Cheshire, Lancashire: Wirral Peninsula, Liverpool
Sheet 79ne, Old Series 1". 1884 drift. First drift edition. Colour proof copy. Flintshire, Cheshire, Lancashire: Wirral Peninsula, Liverpool, Rivers Dee and Mersey. Hand-coloured engraving, 36.5 x 54.5cm. Topography 1840, geology 1884. Undated watermark. Flat, old folds, centre-fold reinforced on backed, trimmed without loss of marginalia. Clean, bright colours. Manuscript notes 1885 document handling and checking between WT and Mrs. Williamson (colouriste?). In good 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.