Copperplate

Roxburghshire : 2 items

Maps

J. Blaeu T. Pont    Theatrum Orbis Terrarum 1654
£160
52 x 41cm


Liddesdale (part of Roxburgshire). Timothy Pont is probably the foremost of Scotland's early cartographers, and from the early 1580's until his early death in c 1611-14, he surveyed much of the country. Most of his work was not, however, published in his lefetime. The manuscript maps he left eventually found their way to John Blaeu in Amsterdam, who used them as the basis for volume 5 (devoted to maps of Scotland and Ireland and first published in 1654)) of his world atlas. Of the 46 Scottish maps in the volume, 36 carry attributions to Pont as author, including this one of Liddesdale, part of Roxburghshire.
Ref: ROX 001
 

Topographical prints - other areas

A. Hogg H. Boswell    The Antiquities of England and Wales c1787-9
£9
18 x 15cm


Roxburghshire - Melrose Abbey. The Antiquities of England and Wales was the product of Alexander Hogg who was well known as a partwork publisher. Under the claimed authorship of Henry Boswell it was issued serially from c1787-9, and subsequently made available as a complete work. The format was typically 2 (though sometimes up to 6) prints to a page, with one or two accompanying pages of descriptive text on each pair of subjects. It also included the set of English county maps by Thomas Kitchin first used in the London Magazine from 1747-54. Melrose Abbey was founded in 1136 by order of King David I and the modern town of Melrose grew up around it. The Abbey was destroyed or badly damaged by the English 3 times - in 1322, 1385, and 1544, but was abandoned to decay after the Scottish Reformation, its last monk dying in 1590. In 1610 part of the Abbey church was repaired and converted to became the parish church of the community, being once again abandoned in 1810 when a new church was built. Today the ruins are maintained by Scottish Heritage with public access. This print, engraved by Thornton, is supplied with the original, accompanying text.
Ref: TOP 443