Surrey Maps

50x38 cm

SURRIA Vernacule SURREY.

Copper engraving by Jan Blaeu (1596-1673) the son of William Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), founder of the famous Dutch publishing house. The county maps of England and Wales appeared in the fourth volume of their world atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum in 1645. The work commenced publication with the first volume in 1630,  eventually expanding  to 12 volumes. The English county maps were closely copied from the 1623 edition of John Speed's Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, and the text verso translated into various languages from William Camden's Britannia. The production of the maps was of the highest quality with consistently fine and uniform engraving embellished with decorative title cartouches and armorial bearings, the printing carried out in Blaeu's own printing house using the finest quality rag paper and usually completed with hand colouring carried out within Blaeu's own workshops. The atlases containing the English county maps were published from 1645 until 1667, the maps remained unaltered throughout publication. A fire at Blaeu's printing house destroyed most of the plates in 1672 and Jan Blaeu died the following year effectively ending the Blaeu publishing dynasty. 
Good examle of the map of Surrey in original hand colour. Latin text verso.Water stain to left and right paper edges but with large margins all round, the map is unaffected.