Devonshire (with separate text) by John Speed

Code: 53393

Author: John Speed.

Date published: 1646

sold in popes-head Alleye by John Sudburi & George humble. Copper engraving, later but not modern hand colouring. Overall size : 53.9cms.x 41.6cms. Image size : 507 x 378mms. Decorative cartouche containing county name. Large town plan of Exeter bottom right with key above; eight coats of arms left surmounted with the royal coat of arms. Blank back to map but TOGETHER WITH SEPARATELY PUBLISHED sheet of text with capital letter not listed in Skelton. Neat pencil information on blank verso from mapdealer states,'the very rare 1646 issue (not mentioned in Chubb) with separate text- an almost unknown feature. An important specimen'. So the text can be framed and displayed alongside the map. Bottom margin edge strengthened on verso with old paper and thread margins bottom right half of right margin similarly augmented from verso - see photos. Very attractive and very rare map and companion sheet. An exciting find... 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