The Province of Connaugh (Connaught) by John Speed

Code: 48454

Author: Speed, John

Publisher: John Sudbury and George Humble.

Date published: 1616

Rare Latin edition. Copper engraving uncoloured as issued. Overall size : 55.9cms x 41.8cms. Image size : 505mm x 388mm. Superb royal coat of arms surmounting the title cartouche top left; scale of distance surmounted by dividers and two putti holding a ribbon entitled : The scale of Irish Miles; top right compass rose and publishers' imprint in highly decorative cartouche; below that bird's eye view of Galway e. its fortifications clearly visible and with the river Galway, ships and boats in the foreground. One pinprick top and bottom centrefold (only noticeable when held up to the light) ; two faint, tiny fox spots just to the left of the title cartouche else fine condition. Lovely black velvety impression of what is considered the rarest of all the John Speed editions - produced for the foreign market. 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