The Countie of Radnor described FIRST EDITION by John Speed

Code: 53861

Date 1611

FIRST EDITION.   Long title: The Countie of Radnor described And the Shyretownes Sittuatione.  Copper engraving by Jodocus Hondius. ; later but not recent hand colouring. English text on verso describing the history and geography of the county: ‘ The Soil is hungry, though not barren and that in the East and South the best: the other parts ar rough and churlish and hardly bettered by painful labour’... . Overall size 54.5cms x 42.2cms. Image size : 509mm x 385 mm. Inset plan of Radnor, ornamental cartouche top right, compass rose surmounting distance scales.  Centre top the feathers of the Prince of Wales encircled by a crown. etc. Centre fold as published.  Odd fox spot in blank areas; browning to margins and 12 centimetres strengthening in bottom margin ( for no apparent reading), totally blending in with the surrounding paper.  Six large fox spots on verso and stain from  old tape from a past staining top and bottom of centrefold on verso.

Unfortunately, there are no surviving records of how many examples of the First Edition (or indeed of any edition) were printed. One might speculate that the First Edition could have numbered between about five hundred and one thousand examples. It should be remembered that market for maps was not well developed in England in 1612. This, together with the cost of the atlas, the need for a second edition soon afterwards, and the high quality of impressions from the third, Latin text, edition of 1616, suggests that the first print-run may have been closer to five hundred copies or so. Unfortunately, until an attempt is made at a census of surviving examples, these figures can be regarded as only the roughest of estimates. Ashley Baynton-Williams see  http://www.mapforum.com/02/speed.htm

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, whose descriptive text was used by Speed for most of the maps in his atlas “The Theatre of Empire of Great Britain” published most probably in 1612 although it bears the date 1611 on the main title page. The maps were engraved in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius, one of the foremost engravers of his time. Speed’s maps are unique historical documents of their time and the town plans featured on the maps are in most cases the first information we have of their early apppearance. Their artistry has guaranteed the collectability of these maps in the centuries that have followed.