County Maps of the West Country

The squirrel instinct is inherent in most of us from the earliest age, and the reason for this desire to hoard is often obscure. It is not necessarily the miser in us, storing property in the hopes of increasing our worldly assets, as many will collect items which have little or no intrinsic value. The schoolboy's interest in match box covers, cigarette cards and a host of other curiosities, which have been illustrated from time to time in Cliff Morgan's television programme of chil-dren's hobbies, are perfect examples of collections of worthless items. Maps are probably one of the oldest attractions to the collector, but the earliest collections were only for the nobility of considerable wealth, such as Kings, Emperors and highly successful military commanders.