The first printed map of Northumberland

The first published state of Saxton's map of Northumberland, the first time the county had been represented on a printed map. It is decorated with a strapwork title cartouche, the Arms of Elizabeth I and Thomas Seckford, a pair of compasses for the scale and Saxton's inscription, and banderoles for the cardinal points. Christopher Saxton was commissioned to survey England and Wales in 1570, financed by Seckford and encouraged by the Queen's Privy Council, headed by the Secretary of State, Lord Burghley. The maps were engraved between 1574-1578 (this is the only one without an engraved date) and published as an atlas in 1579. It is not signed by the engraver. The survey was highly influential and was copied by other mapmakers including Spped and Blaeu. Some of the original plates were still being printed (heavily amended) in the 1770s.