"The Countie of Nottingham Described the Shire Townes Situation and the Earls Thereof Observed", Speed, John

This is an uncommon early printing of Speed's map of Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands of England, with no text at all on verso. Towns and cities, parks, and rivers are located, and there is a note at left referring to the Battle of Stoke Field at the end of the War of the Roses, with a small illustration of that bloody conflict. The map contains three elaborate decorative cartouches. At right is the massive title cartouche which features a coat-of-arms, two young figures with their crossbows fixed on peacocks, and an attached table showing the coats-of-arms of various prominent families of the county. The ornate strapwork cartouche at top left encases a plan of the city of Nottingham and is adorned by Nottinghamshire's coat-of-arms, two boys holding birds, and the goddess Minerva. Another cartouche at bottom left encloses the distance sale and includes a large compass rose. Engraved by Jodocus Hondius and published by John Sudbury and George Humble.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.SPE-1b.

Condition: B+

A nice impression on a watermarked sheet with minor offsetting along the centerfold, a damp stain that just enters into the image at top, and two short archivally repaired centerfold separations. A small amount of the top blank margin has been replaced with old paper.