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John Speeds map of Virginia and Maryland

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John Speeds famous 1676 "Map of Virginia and Maryland. Sold by Thomas Baffet in Fleet Street and Ricard Chiswell in St. Pauls Church yard." Center fold seperation, else VG. Framed. In 1611 the English map publisher John Speed published an atlas of Great Britain under the title Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain. In 1627 he brought out a world atlas A Prospect of the most famous Parts of the World. Both atlases, combined in one volume, were reissued several times. The 1676 reprint by Basset and Chiswell contained eight new maps, four of which concerned the New World. The "Map of Virginia and Maryland" was one of them. This map shows the influence of two prototypes: the John Smith map and the Augustine Herrman map. The delineation of the land is still much like John Smith. The nomenclature, however, is nearly identical to that of Augustine Herrman. This is not surprising since Smith's names were outdated even in 1635 as the "Lord Baltimore" map shows. The shape of the Atlantic coastline and the double row of trees indicating the Maryland and Virginia boundary (established in 1668) are based on the Herrman map.

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