"[Lot of 2] Stafford Shire [and] A New Map of Staffordshire, Divided into Hundreds, Exhibiting Its Roads, Rivers, Parks &c.", Morden, Robert

A. Stafford Shire, by Robert Morden, from Britannia, circa 1695 (14.6 x 16.9"). This county map of Staffordshire shows the early road system, with the town of Stafford located at the center of the sheet. The map displays interesting detail including the locations of buildings, rivers, bridges and parks. There is a decorative title cartouche and three distance scales. Engraved by Sutton Nicholls and sold by Abel Swale, Awnsham & John Churchil.

Morden was one of the first English cartographers to show longitudes measured from the meridian of St. Paul's Cathedral (shown in degrees at the bottom of the map) and time in minutes measure locally from the sun (shown at the top in Roman numerals). The roads on his maps are based on Ogilby's earlier survey. The Britannia was first published by historian William Camden (1551-1623) in 1586. After the publication of the final edition of Britannia in 1637, the work was not published again until 1695 when Gibson revised and translated the text from the original Latin and included fifty maps, mostly of the English counties, prepared by Robert Morden, replacing the outdated maps of Christopher Saxton.

Condition: A fine impression with attractive color on watermarked paper. There is a faint damp stain at right and moderate toning along the edges of the sheet. There are several small chips and tears along the edges of the sheet, not affecting the image.

B. A New Map of Staffordshire, Divided into Hundreds, Exhibiting Its Roads, Rivers, Parks &c., by John Cary, dated 1806 (18.8 x 21.4"). This highly detailed map of Staffordshire is divided into hundreds and shows an extensive network of roads and excellent topographical detail. Condition: Original color on watermarked paper with faint offsetting, light soiling, and several extraneous creases. There are centerfold separations in right and left blank margins, as well as several marginal tears that have been closed on verso with archival tape.

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Condition: B+

See description above.