Code: 50222
Author: John Speed
Publisher: Sudbury & Humble
Date published: 1627
waf..Copper engraving, later hand colouring. Overall size : 52.6cms.x 42cms. Image size : 500mm.x 377mm. Title in cartouche surmounted by the royal lion and unicorn. Scale of miles and town plan of Caermarden. English text to verso. Centre fold as issued. The colouring is a little harsh; there is white showing through at centrefold where the paint has not taken or has worn away; blank areas dusty and a little soiled; one left tear into margin but not map; top and bottom right margin tips missing; water stain bottom margin so waf hence price. Until his late thirties, John Speed was a tailor by trade but his passion for history and map-making led him to gain a patron in Sir Fulke Greville, the poet and statesman, who found him a post in the customs and helped subsidize his map-making, giving him "full liberty to express the inclination of my mind"". He became aquainted with the publisher William Camden
