A 17th century map of the Roman Empire

SPEED, John.

A New Mappe of the Romane Empire newlydescribed by John Speede...
London: Roger Rea and Son, 1665. Coloured. 395 x 510mm.

Small repaired tear lower left.

A decorative map of the Roman Empire in Europe, Asia and Africa, published in Speed's 'Prospect of the most Famous Parts of the World', the first English atlas of the world, first published 1627. Along the top of the map are eight city prospects: Rome, Genova, Jerusalem. Venice, Constantinople and Alexandria. Down the sides are ten costume vignettes down the sides and along the top. Despite being a map of Roman times all these vignettes are contemporary. Printed on the back is a two-page history of the Roman Empire.
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.


Stock ID : 23989