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Massive Maps and Mapping Map Shrinkage!

Mammoth map of England and Wales, prepared by England's most revered 19th Century mapmaker, Aaron Arrowsmith.

First issued in 1815, the map was revised in 1816 and 1818.  

The map contains a grid illustrating how the lines of Longitude and Latitude were constructed from the map.  At the top left, sections of Scotland and Ireland are shown in outline, to illustrate the contiguous regions which are not the subject of the map.

There is also an unusual diagram entitled "Scales Shewing The Unequal Shrinking of Paper."  The purpose of this diagram was to address the problem faced by makers of printed maps, that all paper shrinks as part of the process of creating and printing on paper.  For example, Philippe Buache calculated that a manuscript map should be enlarged by 1/60th to account for shrinkage when the map design was transferred to a copperplate, to account for paper shrinkage. 

In the explanatory note, Arrowsmith writes:

This Map of England and Wales is delineated according to a Scale of One Inch to Three English Statute Miles. The size of each Sheet of the Paper on which it is printed is 40 Inches by 29 Inches. The Map will require 15 whole Sheets of the above Size, and 3 Half Sheets. These when carefully pasted together, and laid on a good plain Surface, will form the Map. The Sheets are to be connected by the Lines of Latitude E. and W. and parallel to the Centre, the sides of the Squares parallel to the Meridian N. and S. The two corrected Scales A.A. and B.B. on Sheet No.6. The Scale A.A. is too large as measured E. and W. but applies correctly N. & S.; and the Scale B.B. is too small as measured N. & S. but applies correctly E. and W.

For the purpose of ascertaining the Area of the several Counties, the Outlines were correctly traced, and the Fractional parts of the Square Miles on the different sides of the Outline, differently coloured: By which contrivance the Area of the whole to the Fractional part of a Square Mile shown by the subdivided parts of each County. The entire Square Miles were numbered at each Hundred, and the fractional parts of Square Miles afterwards added.

The dimensions of each Sheet of Paper according to the Scale would contain 10,440, Square Statute Miles, and in the view of ascertaining whether the Area of the Map, or of its parts, might be safely inferred from the Weight of the Paper, Fifteen Sheets taken out of the Middle of a Ream, completely dry, were accurately weighed, but were found to differ as 18 to 18.5; the heaviest weighing 18 3/4 oz. Troy; the lightest 18 oz.; wherefore the Area computed according to the weight of the Paper would be liable to Error of nearly one fifth part. 

Rarity

The map is apparently rare.  OCLC locates 2 examples of the1818 (see below for a list of all states in OCLC):

• British Library (1815, 1816, 1818)
• Bibliotheque National De France (1815)
• National Library of Australia (1815) (bound as an atlas)
• National Library of Wales (1815) (bound as an atlas)
• University of Wales Saint David (1815) (segmented and laid on linen, 3 boxes)
• Incomplete Example:  Stanford University / Rumsey Library (1815), lacking 6 sections)
• Oxford (1816)
• National Library of Scotland (1816)
• Library of Congress (1818) (segmented and laid on linen, 2 boxes)