- Title: A Map of the World from the lateft Authorities
- Author: Thomas Kitchin
- Date: 1771
- Condition: Very Good - Two tears into image above hemispheres, expertly repaired. Minimal paper loss at center near the terminus of the tropic of Capricorn.
- Inches: 19 7/8 x 10 1/2 [Image]
- Centimeters: 50.48 x 26.67 [Image]
- Product ID: 308652
Finely engraved double-hemisphere world map featuring an ornate rococo-style title cartouche and a surrounding band of zodiac signs. The depiction of Australia follows the French theoretical school of cartography, presenting conjectural coastlines completed from hypothesis rather than observation. The mapmaker extends the continent's eastern shoreline speculatively, joining it to Tasmania and projecting the landmass far eastward beyond the Solomon Islands.
Supplementary elements—such as the tropics, polar circles, meridians of longitude measured from London, and notes on the choice of prime meridian—underscore the map’s didactic intent, reflecting Enlightenment ambitions to standardize geographic measurement and disseminate reliable cartographic knowledge. The central cartouche, positioned between the hemispheres, achieves a poised balance of ornament and clarity, exemplifying the refined aesthetic of late Georgian cartography while allowing the precision of the engraving and the density of the nomenclature to dominate the composition.
Background on Creator
Thomas Kitchin (1719-1794) was an English engraver, cartographer, and publisher active in the 18th century. Apprenticed as a teenager to the eminent map engraver Emanuel Bowen, he later married Bowen’s daughter and inherited much of his master’s business, establishing himself as one of the most productive British map engravers of his generation. Kitchin produced atlases and large-scale county maps, co‑authoring works such as the Small English Atlas and Large English Atlas, and engraved major pieces including John Mitchell’s influential 1755 map of North America. He supplied a substantial corpus of maps to periodicals like the London Magazine, ultimately creating more than 170 maps for it between the 1740s and 1780s. Later in his career he was appointed Royal Hydrographer (royal mapmaker) to King George III, and he spent his final years in St Albans, where he remained professionally active and was later commemorated with a blue plaque near his former residence.