This map illustrates the Moray Firth in northeastern Scotland with the nearby cities of Inverness and Cromarty. The chart is oriented with west at top by a lovely compass rose. The large cartouche contains a dedication to Lord Viscount Torbat and is embellished with putti and the allegorical female representation of Earth. Until Captain Collins published his Coasting Pilot in 1693, British mariners were mainly dependent on outdated charts made by the Dutch. Collins' survey was commissioned by Charles II and was the first systematic survey of British coastal waters and the first marine atlas of British waters engraved and printed in London from original surveys. Engraved by Herman Moll.

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 #41; Verner (MCC-58) #37.

Condition: B+

A dark impression on a sturdy sheet with faint offsetting and light toning along the centerfold. There are a couple of faint damp stains along the edges of the sheet, well away from image.