Glamorgan shire (Glamorganshire) by John Speed

Code: 53196

Author: John Speed

Publisher: Sudbury and Humble

Date published: 1627

Long title:Glamorgan shire With the sittuations of the cheife towne Cardyff and ancient Landaffe described. Copper engraving by Jodocus Hondius, later hand colouring. Overall size : 53ms.x 40.7cms. Plate size : 507mm x 380mm. Scale of distance. The central title cartouche is flanked on two sides by town plans of Cardiff and Llandaff. In the sea area a lady bearing the royal standard rides on the back of a sea monster. Ship with billowing sails bottom left above the scale of English miles. English text on verso. Good strong impression as would be expected from this early edition; some red watercolour to the sheet edges; five archivally repaired nicks to top margin edge and virtually invisible 2.3cm strengthening to bottom of centrefold ; when held up to the light, there is a 2cms area of thininng (2cms long x0.5cms wide) but not noticeable at all until map held up to light else very good impression in very good condition. 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