07/11/2026
A remarkable window into Britain’s past. 🌍
Consigned for sale, this early edition of John Speed’s 'The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine' (London: John Sudbury & George Humble, 1614 [i.e. 1616]) stands as a landmark in the history of British cartography.
Published in the early seventeenth century, this second English edition comprises four books bound in a single folio volume, with an engraved general title, an engraved achievement, and 67 complete double-page engraved maps depicting England, Scotland, Ireland and the neighbouring islands.
Interesting to note that although the general title bears the date 1614, the titles to Books 2 – 4 carry Thomas Snodham’s 1616 imprint. As bibliographer R. A. Skelton suggested, the delay may have been occasioned by the death of William Hall in 1614, who apparently began printing the edition.
The volume also carries a fascinating provenance with an inscription on the front free endpaper reading “Edward Falkener 1837 the gift of his Father.” The volume subsequently descended through his family.
A scarce surviving complete example, combining early cartographic importance with a documented history of ownership, this is a notable offering.
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&L
