Stockdale, John

John Stockdale (1750–1814) was an influential London publisher, bookseller, and auctioneer, active from his premises opposite Burlington House, Piccadilly between 1781 and 1814. Born in Caldbeck, Cumberland, the son of a blacksmith, he began his career as a servant to John Astley of Dukinfield before establishing himself in the capital as one of the period’s most prolific publishers. We stock his map "A Description of the Country from Thirty to Forty Miles Round Manchester" (1794), and his elephant folio sectional "Map of England and Wales from the Latest Surveys" (1809) and companion "Map of Scotland from the Latest Surveys" (1806). The subject of occasional satire, his career was marked by controversy and libel actions, but his publications were nevertheless admired for their quality.