MAP, Southern Scotland, Blaeu

Southern Scotland. Johannes Blaeu, The Merce or Shirrefdome of Berwick / Mercia Vulgo Vice Comitatus Bervicensis, from Atlas Nuevo de los Reynos de Escosia e Yrlanda, 1657 (circa). Hand Color. Beautifully engraved map of the historic county of Berwickshire within the Scottish Borders. This map, based on the cartography of Timothy Pont, famous surveyor of Scotland in the late sixteenth century, identifies mountains, rivers, forests, castles, major towns, and villages. Modern-day Berwick-upon-Tweed and the now ruined Berwick Castle are located at the bottom right. Now in Northumberland, England, the castle was once one of the most important strongholds in the area, due to its location in the heavily disputed border country between Scotland and England. Two elaborate title cartouches, one Latin and the other English, decorate the map. The bottom cartouche is flanked by knights in armor and soldiers. Spanish text on verso, published between 1657-62.

Publication of Bleau’s atlas of Scotland and Ireland (Atlas Novus, Volume V) in 1654 was a landmark publication in cartographic history. Most of the maps were based on the surveys of Timothy Pont, which had been done half a century earlier. The publication took over seven decades to bring to publication; it was delayed by wars, copyright restrictions, and only intermittent official support. The maps are scarce today due to the relatively short publication history of the atlas.
Dimensions: 14.9 x 19.5 in
Condition Report: A crisp impression with contemporary color on a lightly toned sheet with a large Atlas watermark and extraneous creasing around the centerfold. There is a centerfold separation confined to the bottom blank margin. Grade: B+