3. Individual Counties before 1745.
A Compleat History of Devonshire with Cox imprint. Courtesy of author.
Most counties found have contemporary binding and are clearly the original printed text from 1715 to 1731, depending on county. They usually lack title page (Example 1): many specifically name Cox on spine/title. A few counties have been seen with Magna Britannia et Hibernia title pages which have been “adapted” (Example 2). Both of these county variations could date from anywhere between original publication date (for relevant county) and 1745.
In 1730 specially printed title pages for individual counties (3) appeared. These will date 1730 to 1738 before stock was sold. Ward and Chandler reissues appeared with a label printed over the previous publisher´s details (4).
1. [Devonshire] (no title page; pages 465-546)
(London.
T Cox. 1720-1739.) or possibly
(London.
Caesar Ward and Richard Chandler. 1739.)[i]
2. Magna Britannia Et Hibernia, Antiqua & Nova Or A New Survey of Great Britain … Containing the Counties of London and
Middlesex, In the Savoy: Printed
by E and R Nutt; and sold by T Cox at the Corner of Swithin´s Alley, Cornhill.
MDCCXXIV.
London.
T Cox. 1724.[ii]
3. A Compleat History
of [Devonshire] M.D.CC.XXX.
London.
T. Cox. 1730. [iii]
4. A Compleat History
of [Devonshire]
London.
Caesar Ward and Richard Chandler. (1739.) [iv]
[i] Devonshire in author´s collection (KB). Most other counties are known in this form (i.e. lacking any title page); Leicestershire and Nottingham (Univ. of Nottingham), Dorset and Worcester at Society of Genealogists, Lancashire at Chetham´s Library Manchester, Manchester Public Library and the Univ. of Lancaster, Rutland at Univ. of Leicester, the Bodleian Library has Sussex, Somerset, Durham, Oxford and Northumberland, Bucks at IHR, Hampshire at Univ. of Southampton and Univ. of Leeds, Warwickshire (National Trust), Middlesex at UCL, Berks at Reading Univ., Essex at the Gibson Library (Saffron Walden), Lincs at Lincoln Library, the Devon & Exeter Institute has Dorset and Somerset, Northampton (on offer at Forest Books, Grantham, 2023) and Northumberland at Dundee Univ. University of Exeter has Devon and Dorset in two volumes: no title pages.
[ii] This example at UCL Library Services. Two other copies seen have “amended” titles: a copy at the Bavarian State Library has Volume II title page (1720) but a plain label has been pasted over names of counties included and Glocestershire added in m/s: and Stella and Rose were selling Oxfordshire with a cut down title page (1727 date), i.e. the list of contents had been carefully cut out and TP pasted onto a new blank page. My thanks to Alison for confirming.
[iii] Devonshire at B, KB. Other counties known in this form (JISC) are Essex
and Suffolk both held at University of Cambridge, Trinity College; Yorkshire
held at York Minster (multiple copies) and Senate House Library, University of
London; Durham at Durham University Library; Oxfordshire at B;
and Cambridgeshire at the BL. Hodson has a different list: Warwickshire
(noted by Harvey), Hertfordshire (seen by Hodson), BL has Sussex,
the Bodleian has Devon, Kent and Durham, Leeds has a copy
of Yorks with an adapted title page from the final Volume VI and
Sheffield has Yorks with the title page to Parts issue 86 (which began
with the first part of that county). Kent is at Kent Archives.
[iv] The author has an example of Devonshire. Norfolk (reported by Frostick in Printed Maps of Norfolk, 2011); Sussex (reported by Kingsley in Printed Maps of Sussex, 1982); Lincs at BL, Lincs Reference Library and Louth; Derbyshire at NLS (see Hodson p.29, fn 1). All have Ward and Chandler label stuck over the previous Cox imprint.
