Antique Map of Wiltshire with Salisbury and its Parliamentary Divisions, 1885

This is an original antique map of Wiltshire, printed by lithography with original hand coloring and dated 1885 by the atlas it comes from. The title at the upper left reads "WILTSHIRE", followed by "REDUCED FROM THE ORDNANCE SURVEY.", "BY EDWD WELLER.F.R.G.S." and "Divided into 5 mile squares", with a scale of British Statute Miles and a key to boundaries, boroughs, railways and stations.

The county fills a tall sheet with "NORTHERN DIVISION" and "SOUTHERN DIVISION" lettered across it. The north is washed by hand in yellow and rose, with crimson borough washes at Malmesbury, Chippenham, Calne and Devizes, and a paler rose around Cricklade and Swindon and again around Marlborough. The south is washed in green, and "SALISBURY PLAIN" is lettered across the chalk with Stonehenge, Amesbury and the downs modeled in hachure. A large crimson wash covers Wilton and Salisbury in the south, and Westbury carries another on the western edge. Shaftesbury in Dorsetshire is washed in crimson at the lower left. Gloucestershire is named along the top and left, Berkshire down the right with Faringdon and Hungerford, Hampshire in the southeast, Dorsetshire along the foot, and Somersetshire on the west with Bath and Frome. The sheet is divided into five mile squares with letters and figures in the border.

A printed note explains that "The official names of Railway Stations are all engraved in a special character, thus, Clayton; except where indicated by the name of the town being in bold letters and identical with the name of the Station." The sheet number "43" is printed sideways in the lower right corner.

It comes from The New Large Scale Ordnance Atlas of the British Isles, published in London by G. W. Bacon and Co., and is dated 1885 by the volume it was taken from; no date is printed on the sheet itself. Edward Weller (1819 to 1884) was a London map engraver and draftsman and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Vertical fold down the center from binding. Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Handling soiling along the left and right edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Slight wear at the top left corner.

This is an original antique map, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.