The Church Missionary Atlas first appeared in 1857, prepared by William Knight. Further editions appeared in the years that followed until the fifth, which was edited by General Edward Lake. Each edition added new material and maps, and Lake was working on a new edition at the time of his death in 1877. The sixth edition was based on this work, and included are new maps for Africa, Palestine, Persia and Afghanistan, and additional maps for parts of India and China; it also added to or emended existing maps, all illustrating the work of the CMS.