Speed's Carte-a-Figures Map of England and Wales

"The Kingdome of England", Speed, John

This is Speed's handsome carte-a-figures map of England and Wales, based on the work of Christopher Saxton and filled with details of towns and counties. The map is flanked by male and female pairs, including a lady and nobleman, a gentleman and gentlewoman, a citizen and his wife, and a countryman and his wife. At top right is a table indicating the number of cities, bishoprics, markets, rivers, bridges, etc. in each shire. The map is embellished with two strapwork cartouches, the Royal coat of arms, and several sea monsters and galleons. This is the first edition of the second plate engraved by Abraham Goos and closely following Hondius' original which was wearing thin and required replacement. The imprint of George Humble is located at bottom right. English text on verso.

References: Shirley (BI to 1650) #318; Shirley (BL Atlases) T.SPE-1f.

Condition: B+

A nice impression on a sheet with a bunch of grapes watermark, very light soiling, and some minor extraneous creasing along the centerfold. There are archival repairs to a centerfold separation and adjacent tear at bottom, and to some tears and small chips in the bottom corners of the sheet, with a minor amount of the image replaced in facsimile. Narrow margins, as issued, trimmed to the neatline at right and professionally remargined. There are minor old tape stains along the far edges of the sheet on verso, which are not visible on recto.