Emmanuel Bowen 1720-1767
Emanuel Bowen (1720 – 1767) and Thomas Bowen (1749 – 1790), father and son, respectively, were British mapmakers who produced a number of significant maps and atlases. Emanuel, a print and map seller by trade, was also engraver to both George II and Louis XV of France. Starting in 1714, he worked in London and began to produce some of the finest and most appealing maps of the era. Emanuel had great plans to publish a complete County Atlas, however he simply did not have the means to achieve this alone; he collaborated with another map-maker, Thomas Kitchin, and together they published The Large English Atlas.
Individual maps from the Atlas were issued beginning in 1749, well before its completion in 1760. With few exceptions, the maps in The Large English Atlas were the largest county maps that had ever been produced. They differed from other contemporary maps because of the multitude of topographical and historical details. This made them far more useful, as well as more entertaining to peruse. Several years later, the Atlas was reissued—the only alteration being a reduction in size.
Along with various maps and atlases, Emanuel produced a book of road maps, very much in keeping with those of Ogilby. Although much like the maps in Ogilby’s Large English Atlas, Bowen embellished his work with historical detail and heraldic images. Thomas Bowen began helping Emanuel at a young age, and went on to continue his father’s work, including making a number of maps of North America and Britain.