NATIONAL SURVEYS AND MODERN ATLASES 167 



clarity, and comprehensiveness; uniformity of projection and 

 scale; good paper and printing; careful colouring — and a 

 reasonable price: specifications which still elude the publishers 

 of atlases. The first fascicule of the famous *Hand-Atlas', under 

 the direction of Justus' son Wilhelm, was issued in 1817. In 

 six years the fifty sheets, as first planned, had appeared, but, 

 almost from the first, supplementary sheets had been added, 

 and what is regarded as the first complete edition, containing 

 seventy plates, came out in 1830. For 100 years, new editions 

 appeared at intervals, down to the publication of a large 

 International Edition in 1930. The atlas was distinguished by 

 its careful engraving and subdued colours applied by hand, 

 later superseded by colour lithography, which gave wider scope 

 to the compilers and reduced costs. Perthes' growing reputa- 

 tion attracted the attention of the man who was endeavouring to 

 put the ideas of Humboldt into execution — Heinrich Berghaus, 

 who had established a school of cartography at Potsdam, 

 and trained notable men like August Petermann. Their 

 co-operation resulted in the important Thysikalischer Atlas', 

 designed to represent graphically the main phenomena of 

 inorganic and organic nature according to their geographical 

 distribution and divisions, and to bring to life that aspect 

 "which in written studies often lies buried in dead words". 



The first edition appeared in 1838, and a second, revised 

 and extended, in 1852. The latter in eight parts and containing 

 in all ninety-four maps, was a remarkable achievement: the 

 contents comprised: meteorology and climatology; hydro- 

 graphy; geology (including a contoured map of Europe at 

 500 ft., 1,000 ft. and then at intervals of 1,000 ft.); terrestrial 

 magnetism; plant geography (demonstrating the vertical 

 distribution of vegetation, the spread of cultivated plants, etc.); 

 anthropography; and ethnography. Though the data on which 

 the maps were based were understandably often incomplete 

 and defective, and were sometimes interpreted in accordance 

 with theories now abandoned, its comprehensiveness of out- 

 look and general methods have rarely been surpassed, and it 

 set a standard for subsequent work of this kind. 



It is pleasant to record, however, that it was not without a 

 rival in Britain, the fruit of the industry and perseverance of 



