Subject: Britain
Period: 1646 (circa)
Publication: Novus Atlas
Color: Hand Color
Size:
21.6 x 16.9 inches
54.9 x 42.9 cm
Jan Jansson based this elegant piece on Willem Blaeu's 1631 map of the British Isles. The isles themselves are densely detailed, with a great deal of towns, rivers, and topographical features identified. There are three strapwork cartouches, encasing the title, an inset of the Orkney Islands, and a trio of distance scales. A royal coat of arms appears at top left, flanked by a lion and a unicorn, and several sailing ships, two compass roses, and a sea monster fill the ocean. Latin text on verso.
References: Shirley (BI to 1650) #576.
Condition: B
A nice impression in old color with light offsetting that is common with maps from this atlas and faint foxing. The map has been expertly remargined with a portion of neatline replaced in facsimile, and several additional tears that enter half to two inches into image that have also been professionally repaired.