Buy this book on-line

SPEED, John : A New and Accurat Map of the World Drawne According to ye Truest Descriptions Latest Discoveries & Best Observations yt have beene Made by English or Strangers

Sold by Tho:Bassett in Fleetstreet and Richard Chiswell in St. Pauls Church Yard, London, 1627-[76]

420 x 560 mm., in full recent wash colour, in excellent condition with good margins all round.

A very attractive example from the most prestigious English world atlas of the seventeenth century by John Speed (1552-1629). This is Speed’s classic representation of the world surrounded by allegorical border depictions of the four elements. The alignments of the ‘Heavens and Elements’, ‘Figure of the Spheare’ and illustrations of a solar and lunar eclipse appear in the four corners. Two attractive hemispheres of the heavens are in the centre and the whole is finished off with roundel portraits of the first four circumnavigators.Speed is the most famous of all the English map-makers. His two most celebrated publications are ‘The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain’ covering the British Isles, first published in 1611[12] and the ‘Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World’, first published in 1627. Speed was a tailor by profession with a great interest in history and maps. He wanted to produce an English atlas of the same high standards and quality as those published on the continent. The ‘Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World’ was published in 1627, two years before the death of Speed. Ownership of the atlas passed through various hands until sometime after 1668 when Roger Rea sold the rights to Thomas Bassett and Richard Chiswell. Bassett was a specialist in legal books and Chiswell was the publisher for the Royal Society. The final 1676 edition of the ‘Prospect’ includes eight further maps on seven sheets appearing for the first and only time. Phillips (1909-) 488; Shirley (1984) 317; Shirley (2004) T.Spe 1j; Skelton (1970) 92; Wing (1945-51) S4886.

SPEED, John : A New and Accurat Map of the World Drawne According to ye Truest Descriptions Latest Discoveries & Best Observations yt have beene Made by English or Strangers

Sold by Tho:Bassett in Fleetstreet and Richard Chiswell in St. Pauls Church Yard, London, 1627-(76)

420 x 560 mm., in fine old but not original colour, two minor marks in upper margin otherwise in good condition.

A fine world map from the most prestigious English world atlas of the seventeenth century by John Speed (1552-1629). This is Speed’s classic representation of the world surrounded by allegorical border depictions of the four elements. The alignments of the ‘Heavens and Elements’, ‘Figure of the Spheare’ and illustrations of a solar and lunar eclipse appear in the four corners. Two attractive hemispheres of the heavens are in the centre and the whole is finished off with roundel portraits of the first four circumnavigators.Speed is the most famous of all the English mapmakers. His two most celebrated publications are ‘The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain’ covering the British Isles, first published in 1611[12] and the ‘Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World’, first published in 1627. Speed was a tailor by profession with a great interest in history and maps. He wanted to produce an English atlas of the same high standards and quality as those published on the continent. The ‘Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World’ was published in 1627, two years before the death of Speed. Ownership of the atlas passed through various hands until sometime after 1668 when Roger Rea sold the rights to Thomas Bassett and Richard Chiswell. Bassett was a specialist in legal books and Chiswell was the publisher for the Royal Society. The final 1676 edition of the ‘Prospect’ includes eight further maps on seven sheets appearing for the first and only time. Provenance: private English collection. Cosgrove (2007) p. 74; Phillips (1909-) 488; Shirley (1984) 317; Shirley (2004) T.Spe 1j; Skelton (1970) 92; Wing (1945-51) S4886.

Bibliophile Bookbase for antiquarian books, maps and prints.