| Christopher Saxton — The First Atlas of England |
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The First Atlas of England |
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An Atlas of England and Wales Published: London, 1579 Folio. Later calf, skillfully rebacked and repaired, gilt-lettered red morocco spine label. Hand-colored engraved frontispiece of Queen Elizabeth, engraved plate showing 84 escutcheons, engraved table of towns, 35 double-page maps (one folding) with contemporary hand-coloring, printed index of maps bound at the end. Includes 3 maps by John Norden bound in at front, with other maps, Royal Arms, and printed tables from Norden's Speculum Britanniae of 1593 pasted to the endpapers and versos of the maps. Small rust hole to map of Glamorgan Some soiling, repairs, 3 maps trimmed to neatlines. Christopher Saxton (1542-1611), widely considered the father of British cartography, was the first mapmaker to survey comprehensively the counties of England and Wales. Published in a landmark, magnificent volume in 1579, his compilation was also the first atlas devoted to the complete depiction of one country. Saxton's attention to precision, detail, and artistry was unprecedented, making the Atlas of England and Wales the prototype for many subsequent generations. To this day it is regarded as the most splendid and groundbreaking atlas to focus on England. The talented Saxton grew up in Dunningly, Yorkshire. Through his association with the town vicar, John Rudd, Saxton received early introduction to the skills of surveying. Educated at Cambridge, Saxton's abilities caught the attention of Thomas Seckford, Royal Surveyor to the Queen, who became his mentor. During this time, state officials were first beginning to realize the political and administrative advantage gleaned from access to accurate maps, and the dissemination of new information on surveying techniques blossomed in accord with public interest. Queen Elizabeth, seduced by this wave of enthusiasm, wished to create an atlas that would be a vision of national pride and prominence. Seckford selected Saxton for the job in 1573. The artist reached an unparalleled standard of accuracy, a significant feat executed without the aid of modern cartographic technology. In all aspects, Saxton's sophisticated maps proved a great improvement over earlier efforts. Each image in Saxton's atlas bears the Royal Arms as a symbol of Queen Elizabeth's supervision and endorsement, signaling that the work was of the absolute highest quality. Saxton conveyed topographical relief with sketches of rounded hills to convey an impression of terrain. These colorful dome-like caps animate the surface of his maps and add a three-dimensional aspect rarely conveyed in cartographic representations of the time. Delicate clusters of red buildings depict towns while single, spired buildings denote smaller villages. Parks are shown as rounded fortresses scattered across counties and the countryside is often highlighted with groups of trees. In maps where Saxton delineated the sea, he added embellishments including fanciful ships and sea creatures. In maps of greater scale, Saxton devoted the greatest attention to detail, and his maps come alive with the personality of their terrain. Saxton's map of the entire country was then the only large-scale map of England. |
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