Reuben Ramble's Travels through the Counties of England

Quarto (210 x 175 mm.), early full brown cloth binding, gilt title to spine. Five parts in one volume, with pictorial title, frontispiece and 40 early wash coloured lithographic plates. Tear to the text of Huntingdon, repaired. Old tear to title. This work makes use of the process of lithography to draw from the exceedingly rare Thomas Crabb copper plate maps from c.1819 of which only one incomplete collection survives. They were then issued in 'Miller's New Miniature Atlas' c.1820 and 'Darton's New Miniature Atlas' c.1822. Here the imprint and plate number are removed and railways added. The titles are now plain without the panel and each now has a pictorial surround. As the Preface states, the book is for the juvenile market and meant to be an 'Introduction to the English Counties'. The vignettes illustrate 'various topographical peculiarities and historical events, which will tend more effectually to fix the Counties on the recollection'. The accompanying text aims to 'attain comprehensiveness and brevity'.The atlas is published by Darton and Clark. William Darton Junior (1781-1854) was joined in 1830 by his son John Maw Darton (1809-81) and shortly after the name was changed to Darton & Son. The partnership was dissolved when William Darton retired in 1837. At some time around 1841 he was joined by the educationalist Samuel Clark (1810-75). He was born to a middle-class Quaker family in Southampton and unwillingly went to work for his father aged thirteen and a half as a brush and basket maker. Well read, he moved to London in 1836 before joining Darton in partnership. After matriculating from Magdalen Hall, Oxford, in 1839, he pursued both business and a degree. He wrote to fund his college expenses.Darton wrote under the pseudonym of Reuben Ramble and designed this atlas for children. The reference works normally place a date of c.1845 on this work, however it is made up of five parts, the southern and western parts of which we have had with ownership inscriptions dated December 1843. Indeed, this is supported by the fact that the 'Oxford Dictionary of National Biography' states 'in 1843, he dissolved his partnership with Darton, and went abroad with Edward Strachey, visiting Italy and Greece'. He would go on to become the Rector of Eaton-Bishop. This example supplies further evidence of an earlier date bearing as it does a contemporary inscription dated 'December 14th 1844'.As referred to above the work was issued in parts. The five consist of Southern, Northern, Western, Midland, and Eastern regions. Each contain 8 maps and their accompanying text. The Southern part commencing with Surrey is usually as here, but not always the first part. The ensuing order does vary. Provenance: original owners manuscript inscription 'Harry Woodward Beckwith December 14th 1844'; Tooley Adams; Clive A. Burden Ltd. (2007) Catalogue 1 item 101; private English collection. Beresiner (1983) pp. 96-7 & 183; Carroll (1996) 74A; Chubb (1927) 517; ODNB; Smith (1982) pp. 190-1; Tooley's Dictionary (1999-2004); Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).…