Moule, Thomas

Thomas Moule (1774–1851) was an English antiquarian, writer on heraldry, and mapmaker, best known for his highly decorative steel-engraved county maps of England. Born in Marylebone, London, Moule initially worked as a bookseller (c.1816–1823) in Duke Street, Grosvenor Square, before becoming an inspector of illegibly addressed letters at the General Post Office. His celebrated series of county maps was first issued between 1830 and 1832 in separate publications. In 1836, these were compiled and published in a single volume by George Virtue & Co. under the title The English Counties Delineated; or, A Topographical Description of England. The maps were later reused in other popular works, including Rev. James Barclay’s Complete and Universal English Dictionary, and continued to appear in editions through the 1840s. Moule’s maps are richly embellished with heraldic elements, architectural vignettes, and early Victorian design flourishes, and are frequently found with later hand colouring.