| Method | Copper engraved with hand colour |
| Artist | Speed, John |
| Published | Discribed and inlarged by I.S. Ano. 1626. Abraham Goos Amstelodamensis sculpsit. Are to be sold by Thomas Baßett in Fleet Street and by Richard Chiswell in St Pauls Churchyard [1676] |
| Dimensions | 395 x 510 mm |
| Notes |
John Speed's carte-a-figure map of the Americas, from the 1676 Bassett and Chiswell printing of his 'Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World,' originally engraved by Abraham Goos in 1626. The map stretches from the Davis straits in the north to the Tierra del Fuego in the south, and regional borders are outlined in hand colour. Much of the northwest is unmapped, and California is shown as an island, following the schema of Speed's double hemisphere from the same atlas, which itself was based on William Grent's 1625 world map. In addition to being the first atlas map of the Americas published in England, it is also the first known example of an atlas map to feature an insular California. An inset map in the top left corner extends the map to the Pole, encompassing Baffins Bay, Greenland, Iceland, and the mythical Frisland. In the bottom left corner, a stretch of putative coastline is called 'The Unknowne World,' a reference to Terra Australis, while along the top right border, the western extremities of Europe and Africa are shown. Along the sides of the map is an elaborate pictorial border, featuring the national dress of the pre-Columbian people of Greenland, Virginia, Florida, Mexico, New England, Peru, Brasil, the Moche, and Magellanica. The top border encloses a series of eight vignettes of the principal cities of the continent: Havana, Santo Domingo, Cartagena, Mexico (Tenochtitlan), Cusco, Mocha Island in Chile, Rio de Janeiro, and Olinda. English text on verso describing the history and geography of the Americas. John Speed (1552-1629) is the most famous of all English cartographers primarily as a result of The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, the first atlas of the British Isles. The maps from this atlas are the best known and most sought-after of all county maps. The maps were derived mainly from the earlier prototypes of Christopher Saxton and John Norden but with notable improvements including parish "Hundreds" and county boundaries, town plans and embellishments such as the coats of arms of local Earls, Dukes, and the Royal Household. The maps are famed for their borders consisting of local inhabitants in national costume and panoramic vignette views of major cities and towns. An added feature is that regular atlas copies have English text printed on the reverse, giving a charming description of life in the early seventeenth century of the region. The overall effect produced very decorative, attractive and informative maps. For the publication of his prestigious atlas, Speed turned to the most successful London print-sellers of the day, John Sudbury and George Humble. William Camden introduced the leading Flemish engraver, Jodocus Hondius Sr. to John Speed in 1607 because first choice engraver William Rogers had died a few years earlier. Work commenced with the printed proofs being sent back and forth between London and Amsterdam for correction and was finally sent to London in 1611 for publication. The work was an immediate success, with the maps themselves being printed for the next 150 years. Speed was born in 1552 at Farndon, Cheshire. Like his father before him he was a tailor by trade, but around 1582 he moved to London. During his spare time Speed pursued his interests of history and cartography and in 1595 his first map of Canaan was published in the "Biblical Times". This raised his profile and he soon came to the attention of poet and dramatist Sir Fulke Greville a prominent figure in the court of Queen Elizabeth. Greville as Treasurer of the Royal Navy gave Speed an appointment in the Customs Service giving him a steady income and time to pursue cartography. Through his work he became a member of such learned societies as the Society of Antiquaries and associated with the likes of William Camden, Robert Cotton, and William Lambarde. He died in 1629 at the age of seventy-seven. Abraham Goos (c.1590-1643) was a Flemish map-maker, engraver, and publisher. Although born in Antwerp, much of his career was spent in Amsterdam, where he worked as a map engraver for his uncle Pieter van den Keere, his cousin Jodocus Hondius, and his second-cousin Jan Jansson. He is best remembered for his work on Jansson's continuations of the Mercator-Hondius Atlas Minor and for his many terrestrial and celestial globes. His son, Pieter, followed in the family business and is celebrated for his Atlas ofte Water-Weereld, the greatest maritime atlas since Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer's Thresoor der Zeevaert. Burden 217 (iv/iv) Condition: Central vertical fold, as issued. Creasing to central fold. |
| Framing | framed |
| Price | £4,000.00 |
| Stock ID | 50965 |