A monumental, separately-issued, folding wall map of Essex in two sections. The lower right corner bears a large and intricate vignette of Audley End House near Saffron Walden, now an English Heritage property.

This map was produced as part of a series of extraordinary wall maps of the English counties by the Greenwood brothers, Christopher and John, in the early 19th century. Based on entirely new, exhaustive surveys, skilfully engraved, and delicately hand coloured in a uniform manner, these maps were luxury objects marketed to the newly wealthy Georgian public. The project was initiated in 1817, and by 1831, the Greenwood brothers had surveyed and published 34 county wall maps.

The quality of the engraving and colouring was the height of luxury for county maps of the age, and spawned multiple competitors, such as Henry Teesdale and Andrew Bryant. Unfortunately, due to increased competition and the use of expensive original surveys, the project was not a financial success and was never completed. With the failure of the project, the Greenwood brothers were forced to declare bankruptcy and to sell the rights to their maps to other publishers.

This example, rather curiously, bears the sales label of James Wyld the Elder (just underneath the engraved title), which is very unusual. It is likely that Wyld acquired a copy of this map at the request of a specific customer as we have seen no other examples of a Greenwood map with a Wyld sales label.

As with all Greenwood maps, the level of detail is exceptional. Individual buildings are marked in smaller villages, as are field boundaries, parks and estates, churches, canals, mills, and castles. Hills and raised grounds are shown using delicate hachuring, making them appear to rise off the page.

Original hand colour. Marbled slipcase. [Folded]