John Speed

John Speed (1552-1629) was one of the foremost cartographers of 17th century Britian. His atlases are renown for the beauty of their hand coloring and have become quite rare. This map was published in (only) the 1676 edition of "The Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World". Engraved by Francis Lamb this is based on the important Ogilby-Moxon map of the Carolinas (The Lord Proprietors' Map) of 1672, illustrating the latest reports from the newly found settlements there. Oriented with north to the right, as were a number of other maps of the region at this time, the map shows the entire southeast coast from St. Augustines to Cape Henry and inland to "Ashley Lake" and "The Apalathean Moutains". The beautiful framing employs double glazing in order to reveal the verso text. Written in English, it provides a lengthy description of Carolina and Florida. This very important map is included in the collections at Duke, Harvard, UNC, the Huntington, John Carter Brown, and the NC Department of Archives and History.