Agricultural History Review, Volume 51 Part 1 (2003), p. 120

This study has its origins in lectures given to the Cartographic Institute of Catalonia, Barcelona in 1996, which were published by the Institute in 1997 as a monograph entitled English cartography. Delano-Smith and Kain have reorganized, reworked, and extended that text, and added a wealth of map illustrations in both black-and-white and colour to produce the present volume. Their approach remains unchanged – the appraisal of maps in their social and cultural context, with equal emphasis on both map-users and map-makers – but the material is presented, with advantage, with greater thematic emphasis. After a brief introduction discussing the spirit and purpose of maps, chapters examine medieval maps; country, county, and regional mapping; property mapping, especially estate, enclosure, and tithe surveys; travel and road maps; urban cartography; and maps in everyday life. The final chapter is devoted to a short but welcome appraisal of map survival. Each chapter provides a clear introduction to its respective topic, a comprehensive review of existing research, and a measured assessment of current thinking. The authors’ practice of highlighting areas and avenues for further research is thought-provoking and is to be congratulated. This reviewer, writing these comments in Keele’s William Smith Building, named after the Cheshire sixteenth- and seventeenth-century cartographer, particularly appreciated their call for a major study of his work. In sum, Delano- Smith and Kain have produced a most authoritative and satisfying introduction to the history of English maps. With its modest price and its high-quality production, the volume is much recommended.