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The first printed map of Monmouthshire

SAXTON, Christopher.

Monumethensis Comitatus Regis Henrici quinti natalitiis celeberrimus Ano Dm 1577.
London, 1579. Original colour. 395 x 485mm, sheet with grapes watermark.

The first published state of Saxton's map of Monmouthshire, engraved in 1577 and issued in Christopher Saxton's county atlas in 1579. The map has a large title cartouche top right featuring Elizabeth I's royal arms, a scale cartouche with Saxton's name bottom left, with the arms of Thomas Seckford, Elizabeth's Master of Requests, above.
Abergavenny, Uske, Monmouth and Chepstow are the most prominent towns, with both Cardiff and Bristol marked outside the county borders. Small enclosures depict the estates of the local gentry, which includes the small enclaves of 'Welshe Bycknor' and 'The Fothol' separated from the main region to the North.
It was William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's Secretary of State, who determined that England and Wales should be mapped properly, and Seckford who financed Saxton's work. Saxton was also issued with a Royal Warrant obliging Welsh officials to provide him with Welsh-speaking guides. The resulting surveys were the basis of county mapping until the middle of the 18th century, copied for Camden's 'Britannia' and the atlases of Speed, Blome and Morden. The printing plates also had a long lifespan: after being eclipsed by John Speed's atlas of 1611, the plates were re-engraved and re-issued in 1642 by William Web; most of the other plates were still being printed as late as 1770.


Stock ID : 21865

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Stock Id :21865

Download Image

The first printed map of Monmouthshire

SAXTON, Christopher.

Monumethensis Comitatus Regis Henrici quinti natalitiis celeberrimus Ano Dm 1577.
London, 1579. Original colour. 395 x 485mm, sheet with grapes watermark.

The first published state of Saxton's map of Monmouthshire, engraved in 1577 and issued in Christopher Saxton's county atlas in 1579. The map has a large title cartouche top right featuring Elizabeth I's royal arms, a scale cartouche with Saxton's name bottom left, with the arms of Thomas Seckford, Elizabeth's Master of Requests, above.
Abergavenny, Uske, Monmouth and Chepstow are the most prominent towns, with both Cardiff and Bristol marked outside the county borders. Small enclosures depict the estates of the local gentry, which includes the small enclaves of 'Welshe Bycknor' and 'The Fothol' separated from the main region to the North.
It was William Cecil, Lord Burghley, Elizabeth I's Secretary of State, who determined that England and Wales should be mapped properly, and Seckford who financed Saxton's work. Saxton was also issued with a Royal Warrant obliging Welsh officials to provide him with Welsh-speaking guides. The resulting surveys were the basis of county mapping until the middle of the 18th century, copied for Camden's 'Britannia' and the atlases of Speed, Blome and Morden. The printing plates also had a long lifespan: after being eclipsed by John Speed's atlas of 1611, the plates were re-engraved and re-issued in 1642 by William Web; most of the other plates were still being printed as late as 1770.


Stock ID : 21865

SOLD
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SOLD
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Print