Hartfordshire Described by John Speed

Code: 54511

Date: 1627

waf..Long title: Hartford Shire Described. The sittuations of Hartford and the most ancient towne S Albans with such memorable actions as have happened.  Copper engraving by Jodocus Hondius. Later but not recent hand colouring . Overall sheet size 52.4cms x 40.8cms. Image size : 508mm x 386mm.  There is a bird's eye view of the ancient Roman town of Verolanium, now St Albans top right with a commentary on the Roman occupation. Below are illustrations of three battles fought in St Albans, two during the Wars of the Roses in 1455 and 1461. Underneath is a description on these battles.description implies. This map has had a hard life, it was once folded into four , top edges have edge tears running into the map, old repairs including one on the horizontal fold - please examine  images carefully - however, from the front, the map is a strong impression with sparse hand colouring and is a very attractive map of a desirable county .

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 Speed’s maps are unique historical documents of their time and the town plans featured on the maps are in most cases the first information we have of their early apppearance.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.