Lot 33: SAYER, ROBERT. 1725-1794; & AND JOHN BENNET. fl. 1770-1784. The American Military Pocket Atlas; being an approved Collection of Correct Maps, both General and Particular, of the British Colonies; Especially those which now are, or probably may be the

SAYER, ROBERT. 1725-1794; & AND JOHN BENNET. fl. 1770-1784.
The American Military Pocket Atlas; being an approved Collection of Correct Maps, both General and Particular, of the British Colonies; Especially those which now are, or probably may be the Theatre of War. London: R. Sayer and J. Bennet, [1776].
8vo (224 x 142 mm). viii, [2] pp. With 6 engraved folding maps hand-colored in outline, the largest 660 x 480 mm. Contemporary calf-backed boards with remains of red-and-gilt title on spine. Black morocco gilt clamshell box. Internally very clean and fresh, several expertly repaired closed tears to map #6 (Lake Champlain); boards rubbed, front joint splitting, spine chipped.
Provenance: Sold by [Louis-Charles] Desnos, bookseller, Rue St. Jacques, Paris, active from aprox. 1771-1796 (small address label to verso of flyleaf).

A VERY FINE COPY OF THE "HOLSTER ATLAS" SOLD BY A PARISIAN BOOKSELLER. Prepared shortly after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, this atlas was intended for British officers in the field. Its portable format allowed it to be carried into battle, earning it the nickname of the "Holster Atlas." The set comprises North America, the West Indies, the Northern Colonies, the Middle Colonies, the Southern Colonies, and Lake Champlain— "maps that the British high command regarded as providing the essential topographical information in the most convenient form" (Schwartz & Ehrenberg, p 190). Often found disbound into individual maps, the present copy is preserved in contemporary boards with a bookseller's ticket that suggests that this example was sold to American revolutionaries in Paris. Howes A208; Nebenzahl Amer. Rev. pp 11-17; Sabin 1147.