John Cary - Arthur Westley

Arthur Westley began business in the late 1870s taking over from Edward Cockrem (see Cockrem 5). He seems to have commissioned only one map (but it may also have been taken over from Cockrem) but was offering a range of different maps of Torquay and the neighbourhood between 1880 and 1885. One of the maps he offered was taken from  the Cary plates of the Improved Map. His business was, in turn, taken over by Leonard Seeley.

 L Seeley was a Torquay bookseller and library proprietor. In circa 1885 he was issuing a map based on work by Cary’s Improved map only differing from Westley’s in small details and a slight “shift to the east”. Also at about this time he was selling an updated version of a map produced by W Elliott which was now some 50 years old (c.f.). Exactly which map replaced which, or whether Seeley was selling both together cannot be clarified. However, the selection of other items being sold (on back cover) seems to indicate that the company was concerned with selling a range of services more in line with the general bookseller and printer (eg note paper, visiting card plates) than the specialist agent for travellers’ wants. On the other hand the Cary map was much more detailed than the Elliott map and would have been better for a potential traveller.

Other publishers and booksellers were also using ex-Cary map products (taken over in the meantime by Gall & Inglis) such as A H Swiss of Devonport for his hunting maps. This Westley/Seeley version must, however, pre‑date Swiss if the railway information is up to date; both retain information such as rocks and coastal depths found on the Cary maps, but later erased before being used by Swiss.

 Cary Improved 3 (Westley)  

Size: 490 x 600 mm.                                      Scale of English Miles (10 = 130 mm). 

WESTLEY'S MAP OF TWENTY FIVE MILES ROUND TORQUAY, Reduced From The  ORDNANCE SURVEY. (De). Below this a note: Circles Represent Two Miles. Imprint: PUBLISHED BY ARTHUR WESTLEY Librarian, Bookseller, and Stationer 10 STRAND, TORQUAY (Ee). Scale Ae).

The map covers south Devon from Rame Head and Saltash with Lifton Station just inside the border to Chit Rock and Sidmouth (not named) with everything below Exeter and Okehampton, thereby missing the eastern edge, i.e. anything east of Venn Ottery aas well as Honiton. There are radiating circles outwards from Torquay. It has railways consistent with a date of c. 1880; no Yelverton to Prince Town line (1883) and the line to Ashton is not yet projected.  

1.1884       Westley’s map of Twenty Five Miles Round Torquay        Torquay. Arthur Westley. (1884).          BL[1].

 2.1885     SEELEY'S MAP OF THE ENVIRONS OF TORQUAY, FROM THE ORDNANCE SURVEY. (Ee). Imprint: SEELEY'S LIBRARY, TORQUAY (AeOS). Scale (EeOS). Size: 490 x 615 mm. Illustrated.          The map covers almost the same area of south Devon from Plymouth to Salcombe Regis and everything below Exeter, thereby missing the eastern edge and anything west of Beer Alston as well as Honiton but shows only a small part of Rame Head (in full on Wesley) and extends further eastalmost  to Beer Head. It has railways consistent with a date of c. 1880; the Yelverton to Prince Town line (1883) is not yet included and the line to Ashton is dotted as projected (opened October 1882). 

 Seeleys' Reduced Ordnance Map Of The Environs Of Okehampton, Exeter, Dartmoor, Plymouth, Dartmouth and Torquay ... L Seeley & Son. (Cover title)       Torquay. L Seeley. (1885).         TM[2]. 



Cover


For Cary´s county maps refer to The Printed Maps of Devon entries 51, 54, 55, 69, 71, 73 and 92. Click reference number to open directly.

For Cary´s New Map of England and Wales so-called "square atlas" - click here.

For Cary´s Improved Map of England and Wales as issued by Cary and others - click here.

For the section of Improved Map of England and Wales as issued by John Heydon - click here.

For the section of Improved Map of England and Wales as issued by A H Swiss - click here.

For the section of Improved Map of England and Wales as issued by Thomas Doidge - click here.

For the 2 sections of Improved Map of England and Wales as used by Beatrix Cresswell - click here.

For the section of Cary´s Reduced Ordnance Map of England and Wales as issued by G F Cruchley to show Dartmoor Maneouvres - click here.

To return / access the Catalogue of Maps in this work - click here

[1] BL Maps 2123 (12.) with accession date October 1884. Mounted on linen with (front) cover pasted on reverse: Westley’s Reduced Ordnance Map of Twenty-Five Miles Round Torquay. Distances are shown by Two-Mile Circles. Price 1/6.

[2] Illustrations courtesy of Torquay Museum; all rights reserved. 



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