London, Henry Colburn, 1819. Printed engraving with letterpress caption on one folio-sized sheet (29.2 x 22.1 cm). Printed surface 25.8 x 16.3 cm.

John Playfair FRSE, FRS (1748-1819) was a Scottish polymath perhaps best known for his works in mathematics and his 1802 book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth. The portrait was engraved by the English engraver James Thomson (1788-1850), who was renowned for his portraits. Outer margins a bit uneven, some thumbing and soiling in the lower right margin. Small spot on the table in front of Playfair, otherwise a very good copy.