Thesaurus Geographicus. A New Body of Geography: Or, A Compleat Description of the Earth. Containing I. By way of Introduction, The General Doctrine of Geography .... Collected with great Care from the most approv'd Geographers and Modern Travellers and Discoveries, by several Hands. With an Alphabetical Table of all the Towns Names.

London: Printed for Abel Swall and Tim. Child, 1695. First edition. . 4to. Full contemporary calf, the covers panelled and with floral motifs; upper cover detached, wear and chipping to the spine and corners. Upper margin cut from the title leaf, ownership signature at the upper margin of the second leaf. Foxing and yellowing to early and late leaves, quite heavy in some places, minor worming to margins of early and late leaves, a few old marginal stains, generally very good. Complete with two inserted plates, and 56 maps & plans within the text. Of two recorded variants, this is of the variety with the description of the index on the title page reading: "With an Alphabetical Table of all the Towns Names". The other (earlier, we believe) variant reads: "With an Alphabetical Table of the Names of Places". In the copy offered here, the Index following Page 506 is titled: "The Index." However, the catchword on page 506 is "AN", which is the first word on the Index page of the copy described by EEBO, the Index of which is titled: "An Index of the Names of Places Described in this BOOK". It seems likely that the Index was replaced, and the title page altered to indicate the change. The Index is entirely different from that of the other variant, but publisher's ads on the verso of the final leaf are identical. The book has a complex structure, with sections variously paginated in a non-linear format. Collation: [A]², b², B-N², A-Ii4,Kk4, *Ll², Kk-Tt4, Uu6, Xx-Ggg4, Hhh4(no leaf Hhh4), Iii-Lll4, Mmm², Nnn-Uuu4, Xxx², a-c². Leaf Hhh4 not present in all examined copies, catchwords match and text is continuous despite break in pagination. Leaf Sss2 is mis-signed Rrr2. The map of America at Page 473 has the misaligned text/map which was corrected in later editions. A significant work by Moll, who was a map engraver and publisher based in London and the Netherlands in the late 17th and early 18th century. Moll was a strong believer in the "California is an Island" theory, and his map of America in this volume depicts it as such. A scarce book. Wing T869.