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| Times Atlas | |
|---|---|
| Name | Times Atlas |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Cartography |
| Publisher | Times Newspapers Ltd |
| Release date | 1895 (first edition) |
| Media type | Print, digital |
Times Atlas
The Times Atlas is a widely distributed world atlas produced by Times Newspapers Ltd and later associated with cartographic publishers and printing firms. Originally issued in the late 19th century, it has been used by readers, schools, libraries and professionals across Europe, North America and the Commonwealth. The atlas has intersected with explorers, surveyors, map publishers and national mapping agencies throughout its history, influencing public perceptions of geography, borders and place names.
The atlas was first conceived amid the era of imperial competition involving British Empire, King Leopold II, Second Boer War era politics and the cartographic demands of Royal Geographical Society expeditions. Early editions drew on data from the Ordnance Survey, Geological Survey of India, United States Geological Survey and colonial mapping organizations to depict colonial possessions such as British India, French Indochina and Congo Free State. During the interwar period, editors incorporated updates following the Treaty of Versailles, the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the formation of new states like Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. World War II constrained production but postwar editions reflected geopolitical change after the United Nations founding, decolonization in Ghana and India and border adjustments involving Germany and Poland. Later Cold War editions adapted to shifting recognition of states including East Germany, West Germany and the emergence of Soviet Union satellite maps. The late 20th and early 21st centuries saw revisions after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the breakup of Yugoslavia and the independence of South Sudan.
Over time the atlas has appeared in multiple bindings and scales to serve markets including schools, reference libraries and field use. Standard large-format editions competed with pocket atlases and student atlases similar to products from Rand McNally, National Geographic, Cartographia and Collins Bartholomew. Special editions have commemorated events such as Olympic Games host city changes and anniversaries of polar expeditions like those by Roald Amundsen and Robert Falcon Scott. Digital and CD-ROM versions paralleled offerings from Microsoft and Garmin as online cartography platforms emerged. The atlas has also been reissued in translated or regionally adapted forms for markets in Australia, Canada, South Africa and parts of Asia.
Cartographic methods evolved from engraved steel plates and lithography influenced by cartographers working with institutions like Harvard University map collections and the British Library map department. Map projections employed include variations of the Mercator projection, Robinson projection and equal-area projections used by national mapping agencies. The atlas integrated topographic relief shading, hypsometric tints and thematic insets for climate, population and transport corridors referencing data from International Telecommunication Union and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. Gazetteers and index entries cross-referenced capitals such as Paris, Beijing, Moscow, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo alongside rivers like the Nile, Amazon River, Yangtze River and mountain ranges such as the Himalayas, Andes and Rocky Mountains. City plans for metropolises including London, New York City, Mumbai and São Paulo appeared in urban detail sections.
Production relied on collaborations with commercial printers, typesetters and photographic reprographic firms often based in London, Glasgow and Leicester. Early print runs used letterpress and steel-plate engraving techniques similar to practices at De La Rue and contemporary map publishers; later editions transitioned to offset lithography and digital raster printing used by firms connected to Times Newspapers. Colour separation, registration and proofing standards mirrored those in industry workshops supplying atlases to institutions such as the Royal Geographical Society and university libraries including University of Oxford and University of Cambridge. Paper sourcing and binding choices were influenced by suppliers serving the book trade and educational publishers in United Kingdom and United States markets. Security of data and licensing often involved agreements with national agencies like the Ordnance Survey and commercial data providers.
The atlas has been reviewed and cited in academic works, library catalogues and by commentators in publications such as The Times (London), geographic journals and educational syllabuses. It has influenced public understanding of boundaries in disputes involving regions like Kashmir, Crimea and Western Sahara by presenting editions that reflected prevailing diplomatic recognitions. Educational adoption placed it alongside atlases from Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press in school curricula. Collectors value early editions for provenance tied to explorers such as David Livingstone and cartographic milestones comparable to works by John Bartholomew and Gerardus Mercator.
Associated titles and competing series include regional and thematic atlases produced by Collins Bartholomew, Philip's, National Geographic, Rand McNally and academic atlases from Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Historical and travel-related companion volumes drew on material from the Royal Geographical Society and expedition accounts by Ernest Shackleton, James Cook and Sir Francis Drake. Specialized cartographic works and gazetteers by entities such as the British Museum and Library of Congress complement the atlas in reference collections.
Category:Atlases