A rare issue of Speed’s map of the British Isles

A superb map of the British Isles, engraved by Jodocus Hondius for Speed's 'Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain'. It has been compiled from various sources: Saxton for England & Wales; Hondius's map of 1591 for Ireland; and Mercator for Scotland. The two views show London c.1600, with St Pauls and the Tower on the nor under siege c.1544. This example comes from the Roger Rea issue, which was beset with disaster: according to an advert for the 1676 Bassett & Chiswell edition, ''the greatest part of an Impression, then newly Printed, [was] destroyed by the late dreadful Fire, 1666". Surviving examples of any Rea map are thus rare.