England at One View: A statistical broadside printed by A Fullarton c1842

[BROADSIDE]. England at One View.
 
London: A. Fullarton & Co., [c.1842].
 
Large, engraved broadside (approx. 750 × 500 mm), printed in columns beneath a central architectural wood-engraving of Mr Barry’s plan for the intended new Houses of Parliament; letterpress text and statistical tables giving the extent, population, and value of land by county in England and Wales. Folded, with short splits at old folds, small central holes and light marginal stains, toned; a well-preserved example of a large-format ephemeral print. Overall, about very good. 
 
A striking statistical and architectural broadside, presenting a snapshot of England and Wales at the opening of the Victorian era. The imposing central image shows Charles Barry’s design for the new Palace of Westminster—then still under construction following the 1834 fire—depicted from the Thames. The illustration predates completion of the building and gives an imagining of how it would be perceived.
 
The tables compile data on acreage, population, land value, and taxation by county, derived from the 1841 census and parliamentary returns. Such “statistical broadsides” were a popular mid-nineteenth-century phenomenon: large decorative sheets designed to display at a glance the productivity and prosperity of the nation. Combining graphic design with civic education, they embodied the Victorian interest in measurement, industry, and reform.
 
Printed by A. Fullarton & Co., whose large-scale reference works (including the Parliamentary Gazetteer of England and Wales, 1840–43) pioneered the integration of maps, diagrams, and statistical data, England at One View is a rare example of this short-lived genre of informational art. An example is held in the British Library; another recorded at the London Metropolitan Archives.