1822 "QUEEN'S COUNTY" A fine example of this rare map published by George & John Grierson and Martin Keene in Dublin. Published for "NEW AND CORRECT IRISH ATLAS Being a Complete set of PROVINCIAL AND COUNTY MAPS DIVIDED INTO BARONIES; Containing the Principal CROSS-ROADS, CITIES, TOWNS, RIVERS, CANALS etc, etc.....".
This atlas is very scarce and it is nigh on impossible to find records of the individual maps being for sale in the recent past. Overall size approx 23cm x 33cm including margins. Condition is very fine with original outline hand colour. These series of maps are very considerably rarer than those issued by Bernard Scale in the late 1700s (of a similar size).
George Grierson (c.1678 - 1753) was one of the most important publishers, editors and mapmakers in 18th Century Ireland. Born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, he immigrated to Ireland as a young man and in 1703 founded a printing house in Dublin at "The Sign of the Two Bibles" on Essex Street. Dublin was then one of the most important cities in the British Empire, being a bustling port and a financial and services center. However, it had a relatively underdeveloped publishing sector. Up to this point, printing had been hampered by ongoing political instability throughout the 17th Century, with a relatively strict regime of official censorship and the overwhelming market dominance of London printers. Especially with respect to cartographic printing, Dublin's footprint was minuscule, with even most surveys of Ireland being printed in England. Grierson boldly stepped into the void and more than any other figure transformed Dublin into a major printing hub. Much misinformation has been written about Grierson. Indeed, from reading much of the material written in catalogs and on the internet, one gains the erroneous impression that he was an intellectual property "pirate" and some sort of disreputable fly-by-night journeyman printer. In reality, he was the leading publisher in Ireland, a highly respected member of the Dublin upper sets, as well as innovative and a risk-taking entrepreneur. While he printed works originated by others, he always did this within copyright laws and always with attribution. In this sense, he was no different than any mapmaker who issued their own edition of a map previously issued (a common and well-accepted norm).
