[MAP]. SMITH, William (1769-1839). Geological Map of Norfolk, by W. Smith, Mineral Surveyor. London: J. Cary Engraver & Map seller, Jan. 1819.
Engraved map with hand-coloring, 591 x 711 mm. (Soiling and toning to margins, upper margin dampstained, several short closed tears near edges, a few repaired on verso.)
SMITH'S RARE GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF NORFOLK.
Smith produced the first geological map of England and Wales in 1815, titled A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales, with Part of Scotland. This was the first geological map of an entire country, systematically created using Smith's principle of faunal succession, which correlated rock layers based on their fossil content, which contained “an amazing amount of correct detail” (DSB) and was the basis for all the geological maps that followed. In 1819, he began the publication of a geological atlas of England and Wales. Published in parts over five years, it remained unfinished, containing twenty-one maps of various English counties.I The map is a reissue of Cary’s map of 1801, with the addition of the geological information.