Full Contemporary Color with Gilt Highlights

"Le Nouvel Atlas, ou Theatre du Monde, Auquel est Representee la Grande Bretagne, Contenant les Royaumes d'Angleterre, d'Escosse & d'Irlande", Jansson, Jan

Great title page from Jansson's atlas of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It follows the architectural style that was used by John Speed and uses the same figures representing the invaders and settlers of Britain. The central figure is that of Britannus, the indigenous ancient Briton. Soldiers representing the Saxons, Romans, Normans and Danes fill the architectural niches surrounding the title. The royal coat of arms, supported by a lion and unicorn dominate the top of the sheet. Title imprint is pasted onto the sheet, as was common at the time of publication. Blaeu issued a similar title page in 1645, but Jansson one-ups his rival with a more bold and ornate style. 3

References: Shirley (TP) #46B; Van der Krogt (Vol. I) #1:44.

Condition: B

Full contemporary color with gilt highlights. There are professional repairs to some chips and splits in the engraved image, with a few small areas of loss at left and just to the right of the title. The margins have been extended with old paper.