Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County by Cole, A. O. C. (Editor)

Peterborough, ON: Peterborough Historical Atlas Foundation, 1975. First edition (127). Many maps and illustrations reproduced from original sources. Folio in green cloth and impressed gilt titles. While in the 1870’s and 80’s many Ontario counties published historical atlases, not in small part to celebrate the successful businesses and rich farms of those settled parts of the province, subscribers to such an expensive undertaking in Peterborough County were few and no such celebratory account of the county’s success was produced. This illustrated atlas, published in Peterborough County a century later, is therefore the first to describe the County as it was in 1875 at fifty years of age. Winner in 1975 of Heritage Canada’s Communications Award and the Local History Award of the Canadian Historical Association, the Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County was produced in the format and style of its 19th century predecessors. J. M. S. Careless in the Canadian Historical Review described the Atlas on its publication as exhibiting ‘a high level of achievement in meticulous local historical research.’ This lovely book has appeal as much for the historian of local places as for the recent arrival, newly come to the County. Worth the 100-year wait. As new, still in the box.