163. Speed, John: The Kingdome of England

London, 1646.
Delicately coloured copperplate map of the Kingdom of England. Cartographically based on the work of Christopher Saxton, initially engraved by Jodocus Hondius, but our copy – replacing the worn plates – is the work of Abraham Goos. The spectacular sheet has three cartouches with the title, the scale bar and the engraver’s mark, but its creator also listed the shires in a chart including data on their wealth (number of cities, rivers, bridges, etc.). The artist, who also illustrated his work with several ships, sea monsters, and the English coat of arms, shows the attires of representatives of different social classes in four pictures on both sides. The map appeared in John Speed’s imposing atlas „The Theater of the Empire of Great Britaine”.
Dimensions: 385 x 520 (425 x 525) mm.
Fine, coloured copy.
Shirley (British Isles): 318.
 
Starting price: 200,000 HUF