Ordnance Survey Maps: A Concise Guide for Historians / Richard Oliver. London: The Charles Close Society, 1993. 192p.; ISBN 1-870598-13-X, (British Pounds) 12.95. Order c/o Map Library, British Library, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG.

Study of the historical geography of Great Britain without reference to the maps of the Ordnance Survey is inconceivable. This volume, published as a successor to earlier similar volumes authored by J.B. Harley and dedicated to his memory, will give most scholars just what they need to start their investigations. A brief chapter summarizing the history of the survey is followed by a general survey of the various US series and scales. The chapter on the depiction of topographic details of maps at scales of 1:10, 560 and larger may be the most useful of the lot. We learn, for example, that "letter boxes are mapped, except when built into post offices. . . . Early 1:2500 and larger scale maps often use such terminology as 'Pillar Letter Box' or 'Letter Pillar.'" Then the contents of the special series devoted to towns and counties are fully listed. A key to abbreviations and a bibliography round out the work. Note that only the mapping of Great Britain itself is treated; the Ordnance Survey of Ireland is excluded from this overview. Neither are any particular suggestions made as to the range of topics that can be examined through OS maps. Still, anyone wishing to study OS maps will want to start here.

Jim Akerman
The Newberry Library