1676 Antique Map HUNTINGDONSHIRE Huntington by John Speed (LM20-7)

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1676 - HUNTINGTON Both Shire and Shire Towne with the Ancient Citie Ely DescribedFine antique map by John Speed published by Bassett Chiswell in St Puls Churchyard.A highly decorative and finely engraved 17th Century Map of HUNTINGDONSHIRE - with heraldic shields and insetplans of HUNTINGTON ELY, published in John Speeds THEATRE OF THE EMPIRE OF GREAT BRITAIN (St Pauls Churchyard, Thomas Bassett Richard Chiswell). The reverse of the map is a completeset of text in English describing the history and topography of the county.Measures 400x 530mm with later hand colouring with central fold as issued.John Speed (1552-1629) was born in Cheshire and from his youth pursued his fathers profession of tailoring. He later moved to London to continue this trade, though Speeds real passions lay elsewhere, namely in the fields of antiquity and cartography. He joined the Society of Antiquaries where his enthusiasm soon attracted the attention of notables such as William Camden and Sir Fulke Greville. In 1596, Greville provided Speed with a full time allowance to write a Historie of Great Britaine. It was during this project that Speed decided to add a cartographic supplement to the work and it was from this that his famous atlas The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine was born.When published in 1611/12, his atlas was an immediate success, outdoing the one established by Christopher Saxon in 1579. There were a number of reasons for this; Speeds atlas showed each county separately with its hundreds, was resplendent with heraldic shields but most significantly had one or two town plans. Displayed from a birds eye view perspective, many of the towns were surveyed by Speed himself using a distinct scale of paces and are the earliest known plans of these places. The aesthetic beauty of the maps were also down to the Dutch engraver, Jodocus Hondius, whose fine calligraphy and decorative strapwork are a feature throughoutAntique Paper Company are a long established family business selling original antique prints, maps engravings as well as many other paper antiques such as original vintage Decorative Posters, Ephemera, Stamps Postal History, Manuscripts, Antiquarian Books much more. We are always looking to buy and have up to andpound;500,000 in immediate funds available. We are looking for exceptional single items, better collections, original archives, Atlases, Libraries, accumulations etc and have previously purchased from Major Institutions, Libraries, Collectors, Solicitors many other sources. We are happy to travel almost anywhere in the world for the right opportunities. So please do get in touch if you are considering selling your Antique Paper collectables. Seller Inventory # LM20-7-4837528

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Title: 1676 Antique Map HUNTINGDONSHIRE Huntington ...