A New British Atlas

This review assesses Volume III, Northern Europe, of the mid-century edition of The Times Atlas of the World, edited by John Bartholomew, against the scarcity of large international reference atlases. Its 24 predominantly topographical plates range from 1:2,500,000 to 1:500,000, with an index exceeding 40,000 entries. The reviewer praises legible lettering, effective road depiction, and precise colour printing, while noting weak contrasts in relief colouring, unsatisfactory symbols, and errors in road numbering, place names, and diacritics. Local official place names and hydrographical names in neighbouring countries’ languages prompt a recommendation for glossaries and explanations of abbreviations. Production combined revised transfers from earlier copper plates with photographic offset printing. The reviewer concludes that the design is conservative but attractively produced, with good coverage and an international approach to names, although stricter final revision was needed.