Art

Towards the end the of the eighteenth century London was undergoing a period of rapid growth and expansion, and developers and gentleman landowners had an urgent need for an up to date, detailed and accurate large scale plan of London. The last real attempt to do so was John Roque's wonderful plan in 1740 - a new large plan was clearly needed. John Horwood saw the need for such a plan, and began planning his map in the early 1790's. By the end of the decade he had acquired enough money, via subscription, to commence his survey, but not enough to complete it. He secured a loan to complete the survey from the Phoenix Fire Office, on the clear understanding that a precondition of the loan was to dedicate the map to them. What makes Horwood's plan so special is that every property is shown individually. This plan covers 'The West End'; Oxford Street, Grosvenor Square, Bond Street, Edgware Road, Hannover Square, Berkley Square, Jermyn Street &c. Mount size: 735 x 1170 mm. Copperplate engraving with later hand colour. Fine condition. 2 sheets conjoined.