England's oldest map goes on sale
It is the modern motorists’ dream and easily negotiated without the need of a satnav – Britain’s first ever road map shows there were just 73 main roads in the country.
The 17th Century work by John Ogilby - 'Britannia Volume the First, or an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales', was hailed at the time as a "landmark" in road -mapping.
A first edition, dating from 1675, contains 100 double pages of black and white maps laid out in continuous strips depicting 73 major roads and cross-roads across England and Wales, although most of them are routes in and out of of London.
The work also represents the first time in England when an atlas was prepared on a uniform scale, at one inch to a mile, based on the statute of 1,760 yards to the mile.
It was the earliest national road atlas of any country in Western Europe and is expected to fetch £9,000 when it goes under the hammer.
Ogilby claimed 26,600 miles of road was surveyed in the course of preparing the atlas, although only 7,500 are actually depicted in print.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The 17th Century work by John Ogilby - 'Britannia Volume the First, or an Illustration of the Kingdom of England and Dominion of Wales', was hailed at the time as a "landmark" in road -mapping.
A first edition, dating from 1675, contains 100 double pages of black and white maps laid out in continuous strips depicting 73 major roads and cross-roads across England and Wales, although most of them are routes in and out of of London.
The work also represents the first time in England when an atlas was prepared on a uniform scale, at one inch to a mile, based on the statute of 1,760 yards to the mile.
It was the earliest national road atlas of any country in Western Europe and is expected to fetch £9,000 when it goes under the hammer.
Ogilby claimed 26,600 miles of road was surveyed in the course of preparing the atlas, although only 7,500 are actually depicted in print.