page_title: John Francon Williams
section_title: Association with George Philip & Son
hierarchical_section_title: John Francon Williams / Career / Association with George Philip & Son
caption_attribution_description: English: Contour Map Of The World by John Francon Williams, 1882
context_page_description: John Francon Williams FRGS was a Welsh writer, geographer, historian, journalist, cartographer, and inventor, born in Llanllechid, Caernarvonshire. His seminal work was The Geography of the Oceans.
context_section_description: Williams started his publishing career in Liverpool under the guidance of the renowned cartographer and map publisher George Philip. George Philip & Son published maps and educational books, and in 1881 they published Williams's first book, A Class-Book of Modern Geography, with examination questions, notes & index. The book was written in collaboration with cartographer Professor William Hughes (geographer) FRGS, and became the first publication in a successful run of works over the coming two decades by Williams for the publishing house George Philip & Son. Between 1881 and 1893, George Philip & Son published twelve English editions of A Class-Book of Modern Geography.
  George Philip (1800–1882) and his son George Philip II (1823–1902) ran George Philip & Son, and when George Philip Sr retired on 1 July 1879, his son George Philip II took control of the business. The publishing house produced geographical and educational publications and operated from Caxton Buildings in Liverpool, and 30–32 Fleet Street in London.
  "Further expansion was prompted by the demand from board schools established after 1870 for general textbooks, school stationery and equipment, and specialist atlases and wall maps. The firm also supplied atlases and textbooks for many overseas countries in several languages."
  George Philip II spotted a gap in the market for quality school textbooks, and over the following two decades, Williams wrote and edited over forty books that sold worldwide.
  The Geography of the Oceans
  In 1881, Williams's seminal book The Geography of the Oceans was published.
  The Geography of the Oceans focuses on topics such as: General Geography of the Oceans, Physical Geography of the Oceans, the Geography of Particular Oceans. The various sections focus on: the distribution of land and water, oceanic river-systems, the salts of the sea, the density, color and phosphorescence of the sea, distribution of marine life, temperature of the ocean, movements of the ocean, sidereal movements of tides, of the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Antarctic and the Arctic Ocean. It was the first book to cover with such intensity the geography of the oceans. 'A valuable little book entitled The Geography of the Oceans, which may be regarded almost as a new departure in geographical science,' claimed the book reviewer in The Cornish Telegraph, who continued, "I have found the book as fascinating as one of Jules Verne's novels." The Daily Gazette called it "A new geographical work of great importance."
  In 1881, Williams and his family moved to West Derby in Lancashire, where they lived at 52 Bonsall Road.
  In 1882, George Philip & Son published Philip's Series of Map-Drawing Books by John Francon Williams. Each book (of which there were at least 22 in the series) contained: (I) A complete full-colored map, so attached as to be always available for copying; (II) An uncolored map without the names, which the pupil can fill in as an introductory exercise; (III) An outline map, with coastline and lines of latitude and longitude only – the pupil being required to fill in the mountains, rivers, towns, etc. with the names: (VI) A map with lines of latitude and longitude only; (V) A blank sheet with the border of the map only. The books were issued in two sizes costing threepence and sixpence each. A review in the Practical Teacher (May 1882) of two books from the series, No. 2 England and Wales, and No. 22 Australia, maintained; ‘Williams has done a good service in publishing this series of Map-Drawing books. They will prove invaluable to the young learners and are well worth the consideration of every teacher of ‘Mapping.’’
  George Philip & Son employed three in-house cartographers: John Bartholomew the elder, William Hughes (geographer), and August Petermann. They were regarded as Europe's finest cartographers. As well as being a good friend of John Bartholomew Jr., Williams was also a friend of the Scottish journalist and writer John Geddie. In June 1882, Williams and cartographer John Bartholomew Jr. nominated Geddie as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Socie
caption: Contour Map of the World by J. Francon Williams 1881
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