Lot 276D email save

ALLEN, William; and F. J. ROBERTS. Plan of the Ci

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Philadelphia: H. S. Tanner, 1838. Map engraved by J. Knight, W. Allen and E. B. Dawson, dissected into 24 sections and linen-backed, hand-colored (1140 x 1260 mm). Inset titled "The Neck." Publisher's half straight-grain red morocco covers. Scattered pencil additions, mostly measurements between streets. Condition: minor surface soiling, minor separations; covers worn. Provenance: Martin P. Snyder. Allen's original plan was published by Tanner in 1828 in conjunction with his Strangers' Guide. Using the lettered and numbered grid references in the margins, specific streets or places listed in the guide could be easily located on the large plan. As the guide explains (quoted from the 1830 second edition): "To find any place on the plan, observe the number and letters of reference annexed to each article. See the corresponding letters on the top and sides of the plan: pass the eye along the columns until they intersect, and the place sought will be found." This was not an original concept, but was based on John Paxton's own "alphabetical plan" in his Stranger's Guide of 1811 (albeit on a much smaller scale than Allen). A decade after the 1828 first edition, F. J. Roberts compiled this "enlarged" version. Although a note at the bottom of the Explanation table refers to an "accompanying book" the references do not seem to match those in the 1828 or 1830 editions of Tanner's guide and no 1838 edition seems to have been published. Both Allen's original 1828 Plan and this enlarged 1838 edition by Roberts are very rare. Phillips, p. 705; Phillips, Descriptive maps and views of Philadelphia 204.

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