South Britain or England & Wales

London: Sayer, Robert, 1787. unbound. Map, in two sheets. Copper plate engraving with original outline hand color. Each image measures 28" x 45".<br/> <br/> This large-scale wall map depicts the entirety of England and Wales extending to parts of Ireland, Scotland, and France. Map has an incredibly fancy commodities cartouche including depictions of cannons, clocks, sheep, the military, representing everything that England was doing at the time. This map was made right around the time the concept of longitude was discovered. perhaps why the clock and time is represented in the cartouche. Based on the work of Marcus Armstrong, this two-part map has a particular focus on military and post roads. Hand-colored lines divide and subdivide shires, mountains are depicted pictorially, and bodies of water such as lochs and firths are all labeled. At the upper right is a large inset of the "The Islands of Shetland or Zetland." The upper left corner contains a decorative title cartouche, and the map's lower left contains a key of "Distances of the Principal Stages on the Great Roads Leading from Edinburgh." The map is in good condition with little edge wear. Minor foxing and offsetting throughout.<br> <br> Robert Sayer (1725-1794) was an important English publisher of maps, portraits, and nautical engravings. Partnering with John Bennett around the 1760s, the two published the works of well-known cartographers such as Kitchen, Jefferys, Belling, d'Anville and others. This beautiful, large-scale map is an impressive example of his work.<br/> <br/>