A plan of Covent Garden at the end of the 17th century

A fine example of the first printed map to focus on Covent Garden, engraved by Richard Blome c.1695 but not published until 1720, with his name removed from the title. Orientated with north to the top right, the map covers the area within Bedgord Street, Long Acre, Drury Lane and the Strand, with St Paul's Church shown as an elevation. A 19-point key lists some of the smaller courts and alleys. In 1695 William III granted Blome a privilege to publish 'A Survey or description of the citties of London and Westminstr'. Although a few of the parish maps with Blome's name exist in the British Library, the series was not published until John's Strype's 'A Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster', a continuation of 'Stow's Survey'. This example comes from the first edition, with no apparent attempt to update Blome's mapping.