"Skelton's Reduced Engraving of the Original Plan of Oxford Taken by Ralph Agas in the Year 1578",

This is a very scarce, early 19th century reproduction of Ralph Agas' important bird's-eye view of Oxford in 1578. The view depicts the grand university buildings, churches, houses, shops, vacant plots, wide avenues and streets, and large gardens and orchards within the city walls. Oriented with south at top, High Street runs from left to right with St. Mary's Church at the center. Lower center are the Divinity School and the University Schools - now part of the Old Bodleian. Most of the buildings and major plots of land are labeled and there are numerous explanatory comments. The map is embellished with coats of arms of the various colleges and several decorative cartouches. Ralph Agas was an English land surveyor. He is best known for his large maps of Oxford and Cambridge, which are now only extant in a couple of examples preserved in institutions. Skelton's work on the antiquities of Oxford was issued in parts between 1816 and 1823 and is also quite rare.

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Condition: B+

Printed on sturdy paper with "1819 J. Whatman" watermark. Issued folding, now pressed. There is light toning and remnants of paper framing tape and some old masking tape on paper edges of verso.