Magnificent early chart of the south coast from Dorchester in Dorset to Plymouth in Devon. Embellished with a compass rose, ships and sea monsters.

Waghenaer's charts revolutionised maritime map making. He was a skilled navigator with several long range voyages to the Baltic and the North Sea under his belt before switching careers after his marriage. Encouraged by the rapidly growing demand of the Dutch naval establishment, Waghenaer produced the first ever bound volume of printed charts. Expertly engraved by the van Doetecum family, these charts have become a byword for beauty and accuracy for the period.



This particular example covers the south coast of England between Dorchester in Dorset and Plymouth in Devon, marking other settlements such as Weymouth, Exeter, Exmouth, Totnes and Bridport as well as clearly showing the Portland Peninsula. Below the coast, the map is dominated by an astonishing compass rose. Two ships are sailing in the sea and a large sea monster is watching them. Several vignettes of large livestock are present on the land, as well as several well-ordered fields, indicating the presence of organised farming communities on the south coast of Elizabethan England.



Engraved in 1583, the French title in the upper margin dates this example to 1590. It is a particularly strong and crisp impression. Framed. [GB1935]