This elegant chart of the southeast coast of England spans from the Firth of Forth (here called Edinbrough Frith) down to Kent, and extends across the North Sea to show part of the coast of the Netherlands. There is little to no inland detail, but counties, towns, and cities, including a prominent London, are identified along the coasts. The chart shows good navigational detail, with soundings, fishing banks, shoals, and rocks depicted. A compass rose at the center of the chart orients north to the right and a coat-of-arms appears in England. Neptune and the allegorical female representation of Earth flank the decorative title/dedication cartouche.

In 1681 Capt. Greenville Collins (fl.1669-1694) an officer in the Royal Navy was appointed by the Admiralty to make a complete survey of the coasts of Great Britain. Prior to this date the charts used by English mariners were copies of Dutch charts that had many inaccuracies. The task of surveying the entire coasts was formidable and took about 7 years, at the end of which only 46 surveys were finally used in an atlas titled "Great Britain's Coasting-Pilot Being a New and Exact Survey of the Sea-Coast of England," which was first published in 1693.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) M.COLL-1a #29; Verner (MCC-58) #25.

Condition: B+

There is light soiling, a few minute worm holes that are only visible when held up to light, and scattered foxing mostly concentrated in the blank margins.