| Method | Copper engraved with hand colour |
| Artist | Longmate, Barak |
| Published | Longmate sculpsit 1773 |
| Dimensions | 365 x 426 mm |
| Notes |
A scarce, separately published, town-plan of Oxford and the surrounding countryside, embellished with hand colour and with a grid overlaid in pencil. Three separate keys with 54 entries identify major town and gown buildings and places of interest. University buildings have been rendered darker to make them stand out against the rest of the city. Measurement comes in the form of a scale of chains, included at the lower right. 'Gunter's Chain' was a unit of measurement developed in 1620 by the clergyman Edmund Gunter. He posited the use of a 66 foot long chain as a way of measuring land accurately. Barak Longmate (1738-1793) was a London engraver, particularly notable for his heraldic works. His son, also Barak, succeeded him in his profession. Longmate published the fifth edition of Collins Peerage, (8 vols., London, 1779), and a Supplement in 1784. He also edited the Pocket Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland, (London, 1788, 1790). For Sir Richard Sullivan's Thoughts on the Early Ages of the Irish Nation and History, (1789), he engraved an elaborate genealogical plate, entitled A Genealogical History of the Family of O'Sullivan More from Duach Donn, monarch of Ireland. Anno Mundi 912 which he regarded as his masterpiece. William Sharp (1749-1824) and John Swaine (1775–1860) were both pupils of Longmate. Condition: Horizontal and vertical folds. Minor dirt staining and abrasion to folds. Repaired tears and minor staining to margins. Manuscript pencil grid. Blank on verso. |
| Framing | unmounted |
| Price | £1,000.00 |
| Stock ID | 51558 |