John George Bartholomew 1860-1920

Portrait by E.A.Walton RSA

National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh

The public part of this site provides links and resources for researchers who share an interest in the history of the family company, John Bartholomew & Son Ltd, the cartographic tradition and the people behind it. 

The content of this site borrows editorial material from many publicly available sources.  Where possible, these have been acknowledged.

Genealogical information is available thanks to many years of dedicated research by Robert Bartholomew (b. 1927)

The privacy of living individuals has been intentionally preserved.

By the late 18th century the city of Edinburgh was well established as the centre of Scotland’s flourishing publishing industry. Without doubt, one of the companies responsible for this enviable reputation was John Bartholomew & Son. From humble beginnings the Bartholomew firm became the world’s pre-eminent publisher of maps and atlases, carrying for many years the title of Geographers and Cartographers Royal.

It was George Bartholomew (1784-1871), an engraver with Daniel Lizars of Edinburgh, and the first of six generations in the Bartholomew map-making dynasty, who initially set the Bartholomew family on the road to cartographic fame. However, it was his son John Bartholomew Senior (1805-1861) who really established the reputation of the Bartholomew firm. Setting up in business as a map engraver in 1826, he soon gained recognition as a skilled cartographer and businessman. Under the subsequent guidance of John Junior (1831–1893), John George (1860–1920), John (Ian) (1890–1962), and John C (1923-2008), the business continued to prosper by introducing new production techniques and by pushing cartographic design to new levels of excellence. In 1980 the business was sold to Reader’s Digest and then in 1985 to News International.    [Mick Ashworth - Harper Collins]

A new 2-page article about the Bartholomew Archive in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society's magazine "The Geographer" (Winter 2009-10).           To download article, click here To view the RSGS "The Geographer" archive, click here

Although out of print, this 112 page hardback book is richly illustrated and traces the story of the Bartholomew mapmaking company from 1826. It includes many biographical references to family members.  A few copies can still sometimes be found on amazon.com:   To check for availability, click here:

 

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