Enfilade

From the London Topographical Society:

Sheila O’Connell, ed., with an introduction by Paul Laxton and indexes by Roger Cline, The A–Z of Regency London 1819 (London: London Topographical Society, 2023), 159 pages, £36.

The A–Z of Regency London 1819 reproduces at two-thirds actual size the 4th and last edition of Richard Horwood’s map of London. As a guide to the topography of early-nineteenth-century London it is unequalled. The 40 sheets of the map are accompanied by an introductory essay describing its making, assessing its qualities, and casting new light on the life of the map-maker, as well as indexes to streets and buildings showing the juxtaposition of residential and industrial premises.

As described in a recent issue of Salon (the newsletter of The Society of Antiquaries of London, 30 August 2023):

In about 1790, Richard Horwood (1758–1803) embarked on what was to be the largest map of London ever published. He told his subscribers that it would be “on a Scale so extensive and accurate as to exhibit, not only every Street, Square, Court, Alley, and Passage therein, but also each individual House, the Number by which it is distinguished.” It was completed in 32 sheets in 1799. William Faden reissued the map in 1807, 1813, and 1819, adding eight new plates to cover developments to the east. The publication reproduces at two-thirds actual size the 4th and last edition of Richard Horwood’s map of London. As a guide to the topography of early-nineteenth-century London it is unequalled. The 40 sheets of the map are accompanied by an introductory essay describing its making, assessing its qualities, and casting new light on the life of the map-maker (including a surprising link with the emerging United States of America), as well as indexes to streets and buildings showing the juxtaposition of residential and industrial premises.