R2,000 - R3,000
John Speed - THE ISLE OF MAN
London: Bassett & Chiswell, (1610) [1676], state 4
Copperplate engraving, centerfold, hand coloured, light tanning along edge of map, 6mm tear in top margin; verso: English text; recto-verso frame
from The Theatre of Great Britaine
38 by 50,5cm
John Speed dominated the English map market during the seventeenth century and his 'The Theater of Great Britaine' was the first atlas of the British Isles. He initiated this project because he was "inspired by the zeale of my countries glory".
The Isle of Man map is decorated with mythical beasts and riders: in the North West a unicorn with a Scottish flag, in the North East a lion with an English flag, in the North a whale with an Irish flag, and in the South a dragon with a French flag. The symbolism of the decorative elements is continued with the two fighting ships in the Irish sea. According to Tooley, Speed was the first to produce a separately printed map of the Isle of Man.
LITERATURE
Skelton, R.A., Decorative Printed Maps of the 15th to 18th Centuries, London, Spring Books, 1965
Tooley, R.V., Maps and Map-Makers, London: B. T. Batsford, 1949
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