Saxton's Map of Essex 1576 British Museum Facsimile Framed Print 1968

A handsome large framed facsimile of Christopher Saxton's celebrated 1576 map of the county of Essex, published by the British Museum in 1968 as part of their series of high-quality reproductions of the Saxton county atlas.

Christopher Saxton (c.1540-c.1610) is rightly known as the father of English cartography. Commissioned by Thomas Seckford under royal patronage during the reign of Elizabeth I, Saxton's Atlas of the Counties of England and Wales, published in 1579, was the first complete printed atlas of any country in the world. Each of his county maps - the Essex sheet among them - was engraved from his own surveys by leading craftsmen of the period and decorated with the arms of his patrons, sailing ships, sea monsters, compass roses and figurative cartouches.

The British Museum facsimiles of the late 1960s were produced on heavy paper from the finest surviving exemplars and remain the standard high-quality reproduction available to private collectors. The map shows Essex in its Elizabethan extent with all the principal towns, hundreds, rivers, parks and woodland marked, and is dominated by a richly engraved royal cartouche.

Sheet size 63 x 48cm in a dark wood moulded frame, ready to hang. Condition is good overall - please review the photographs carefully for the precise state of the paper and frame. A handsome decorator's piece, particularly appropriate for an Essex home, a library, study or boardroom.

UK delivery by tracked courier; collection from Nottingham welcome. Combined shipping discounts on multiple items.