OGILBY (JOHN)


Britannia, Volume the First: or, an Illustration of the Kingdom of England Dominion of Wales: By a Geographical and Historical Description of the Principal Roads Thereof, vol. 1 [all published], FIRST EDITION, second issue with the "City of London" description on 4 leaves, title printed in red and black, engraved frontispiece by Wenceslaus Hollar after Francis Barlow, double-page engraved map of England and Wales by John Moxon, 100 double-page engraved road maps (4 slightly cropped at one margin, nos. 69 and 100 with loss of plate numeral), paperflaw affecting one corner of plate 8, some light spotting and toning, contemporary calf, rebacked in calf gilt, rubbed [ESTC R483348; Chubb CI], folio (405 x 270mm.), for the Author, 1675
|The first survey of the roads of England and Wales, "based on contemporary and collaborative research... [and] marked the first major advance in cartography in England since the Tudor period" (ODNB), Ogilby having measured 2519 miles of road in the form of 100 strip maps.Provenance: Montagu family, with Ditton Park armorial bookplate; private UK collector.