| Method | Copper engraved with hand colour |
| Artist | Burghers, Michael |
| Published | [Oxford, 1676-1705] |
| Dimensions | 495 x 478 mm |
| Notes |
This large copperplate map is from Robert Plot's 'The Natural History of Oxfordshire...' . The Plot map is the most decorative map of the county, with a border of 172 coats of arms, including 148 coats of arms of the county's gentry, each armourial being keyed to a numbered residence on the map. The top border contains the coats of arms of the eighteen Oxford colleges, the City, the University, and four county towns. The map is similar in scale to, but less accurate than, Robert Morden's map, which it predates by nineteen years. There are no hundreds illustrated, but rivers, towns, villages, and churches are clearly delineated, together with hills, woodlands and parks. A few roads are shown, notably the 'Akerman Street Way', making this one of the earliest English county maps to show the roads. The city of Oxford is prominently depicted with clearly illustrated towers and spires of the colleges and churches along with Folly and Magdalen bridges illustrated spanning the Thames and Cherwell. Dr. Robert Plot (13th December 1640 - 30th April 1696), a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford and the first keeper of the Ashmolean, planned to produce a series of county histories, but only two materialised - Oxfordshire and Staffordshire. The maps, rarely found in perfect condition, were issued as folding plates bound into the front of the volumes. The map was engraved by Michael Burghers, who assisted in the engraving of David Loggan's'Oxonia Illustrata', first published in 1675. There were three editions of Plot's Natural History of Oxfordshire each containing a map and thirty-seven plates, published in 1676, 1677 and 1705, though there are no changes to the plates during this time. Michael Burghers (1653-1727) was a Dutch engraver and printmaker. Born in Amsterdam, Burghers emigrated to England soon after 1672. He worked in Oxford, initially as Loggan's assistant from 1673, and was appointed University engraver after Loggan's death in 1692. Condition: Excellent hand coloured impression. Pressed folds, as issued. Additional margins added to right and bottom of sheet. |
| Framing | framed |
| Price | £2,000.00 |
| Stock ID | 52815 |