OXONIUM Comitatus, Vulgo OXFORD SHIRE

An extremely handsome map of Oxfordshire by the famous Dutch cartographer Blaeu. Dutch text to verso. This English county map is highly decorative with figurative title cartouche of two scholars. Royal arms and nineteen other coats of arms of the colleges down the two sides of the map. The map is very detailed and gives many placenames, smaller villages or settlements. Rivers, lakes, mountains and woods are also indicated. Joan (John) Bleau (1596-1673) was a son of a famous Dutch cartographer, Willem Janzoon Bleau, and he shared his father’s passion and continued his work. Joan Bleau’s 'Atlas Maior' is one of the most extraordinary work within this category ever produced. It is known for its exquisite engraving, calligraphy and colouring as well as heraldic detail, pictorial work and the intricate cartouches, which all amounted to the appeal of this work. In fact it is argued that some of the maps produced by Joan were considered to be the finest published anywhere in the seventeenth century.

Fine condition.