Richard Newcourt & Edward Stanford
An 1863 Reprint of Newcourt's Pre-Fire Map of London, 1658 (1863)
41 ½ x 75 ½ in
105 x 192 cm
105 x 192 cm
LDN7103
This is an 1863 reprint of Newcourt and Faithorne's unobtainable map of London, the most substantial view of the city published prior to the Great Fire of 1666. Only three...
This is an 1863 reprint of Newcourt and Faithorne's unobtainable map of London, the most substantial view of the city published prior to the Great Fire of 1666. Only three copies of the original are known to have survived, two in the British Museum and one in the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BNF). It has been theorised that the rarity of this map is a result of both intentional suppression during the English Civil War (both Newcourt and Faithorne were Royalist sympathisers) and a possible destruction of most printed copies and the copperplates during the Great Fire of London.
The BNF copy was the only known example until about 1850 when the publisher A.E. Evans managed to acquire a second example - this copy is now in the British Museum. Sensing a business opportunity, Evans had an engraver, George Jarman, trace his copy of the Newcourt map. As Evans' example had been trimmed and was missing the title entirely, he also had a copy made of the BNF's map. Jarman was then able to combine the best elements of both copies to produce an entirely new series of printing plates. After almost 200 years, the Newcourt map was printed again for the first time in 1857.
The 1857 edition was obviously successful as two further editions were printed from these plates, both by Edward Stanford, in 1863 and 1878. This is an example of the 1863 Stanford printing. The publisher's imprint and date can be found in the bottom-right section of the map below the panel of text containing a history of the city by Newcourt himself.
The map itself is a striking view of the Pre-Fire city with all of the buildings drawn in profile in a bird's-eye view style. It extends from Westminster in the west to Limehouse in the east, though most of the development is centred on the old, walled City of London. Clerkenwell, Bunhill Fields, and Shoreditch are the northern limits of the city. St James's Palace and the Palace of Whitehall make up most of the development around Westminster. All of the great Medieval palaces lining the Strand are illustrated along with their riverside gardens, and the river itself is full of boats of all sizes, from passenger ferries to large seagoing vessels. Old London Bridge is the only bridge across the river.
Critics have often noted that the map's geography is far from precise. The dense ring of houses surrounding the Tower of London's moat, for example, would never have been allowed to exist, and there are also no signs of the earthen embankments which were hastily erected during the Civil War and would have remained in the 1650s. It has been suggested that Faithorne may have drawn the map from memory during the Civil War, either when he was imprisoned in Basing House in Hampshire or whilst exiled in France. This could explain the laissez-faire attitude towards accuracy and the preference for decorative quality.
Alongside the map are two large vignettes showing Westminster Abbey and the medieval St Paul's Cathedral. These are accompanied by the coats of arms of the 12 leading Worshipful Companies and a large royal coat of arms. There is also a genealogy of Brutus of Troy, the supposed Trojan founder of London whose legend dates back to the writings of Isidore of Seville and Geoffrey of Monmouth. A numbered index of churches lists 99 churches within the city walls and a further 28 outside the walls of the city.
A contemporary reviewer in the 1858 edition of the Gentleman's Magazine concluded his review thus: "As an interesting document connected with the past history of the metropolis, the republication is a most valuable addition to our local history, and cannot be too highly prized."
[LDN7103]
The BNF copy was the only known example until about 1850 when the publisher A.E. Evans managed to acquire a second example - this copy is now in the British Museum. Sensing a business opportunity, Evans had an engraver, George Jarman, trace his copy of the Newcourt map. As Evans' example had been trimmed and was missing the title entirely, he also had a copy made of the BNF's map. Jarman was then able to combine the best elements of both copies to produce an entirely new series of printing plates. After almost 200 years, the Newcourt map was printed again for the first time in 1857.
The 1857 edition was obviously successful as two further editions were printed from these plates, both by Edward Stanford, in 1863 and 1878. This is an example of the 1863 Stanford printing. The publisher's imprint and date can be found in the bottom-right section of the map below the panel of text containing a history of the city by Newcourt himself.
The map itself is a striking view of the Pre-Fire city with all of the buildings drawn in profile in a bird's-eye view style. It extends from Westminster in the west to Limehouse in the east, though most of the development is centred on the old, walled City of London. Clerkenwell, Bunhill Fields, and Shoreditch are the northern limits of the city. St James's Palace and the Palace of Whitehall make up most of the development around Westminster. All of the great Medieval palaces lining the Strand are illustrated along with their riverside gardens, and the river itself is full of boats of all sizes, from passenger ferries to large seagoing vessels. Old London Bridge is the only bridge across the river.
Critics have often noted that the map's geography is far from precise. The dense ring of houses surrounding the Tower of London's moat, for example, would never have been allowed to exist, and there are also no signs of the earthen embankments which were hastily erected during the Civil War and would have remained in the 1650s. It has been suggested that Faithorne may have drawn the map from memory during the Civil War, either when he was imprisoned in Basing House in Hampshire or whilst exiled in France. This could explain the laissez-faire attitude towards accuracy and the preference for decorative quality.
Alongside the map are two large vignettes showing Westminster Abbey and the medieval St Paul's Cathedral. These are accompanied by the coats of arms of the 12 leading Worshipful Companies and a large royal coat of arms. There is also a genealogy of Brutus of Troy, the supposed Trojan founder of London whose legend dates back to the writings of Isidore of Seville and Geoffrey of Monmouth. A numbered index of churches lists 99 churches within the city walls and a further 28 outside the walls of the city.
A contemporary reviewer in the 1858 edition of the Gentleman's Magazine concluded his review thus: "As an interesting document connected with the past history of the metropolis, the republication is a most valuable addition to our local history, and cannot be too highly prized."
[LDN7103]
