George Washington Bacon (1830 – 1922) was an American mapmaker, publisher, and lithographer based in London. During the 1860s Bacon had opened a string of different business in London, but none of them had proven truly successful, and in 1867 he went personally bankrupt. It took him some years to bounce back, but in 1870 Bacon founded his publishing business: G.W. Bacon & Co. on the Strand. From here he set about issuing a range of popular maps, drawing largely on the compilations of  Edward Well.

By 1893, Bacon was able to acquire the mapmaking business of James Wyld, which cemented his firm’s standing. Not many years later, in 1900, Bacon’s firm was purchased by the Scottish publishing house  W. & A.K. Johnston, but they continued to produce stand-alone maps under his iconic brand until 1956.


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