Maps

Printed maps were originally reserved only for monarchs and cartographers had to obtain permission to produce them. The advent of intaglio printing allowed the creation of highly detailed maps of virtually the whole of the world known at the time and they were exquisitely decorated with elaborate cartouches and other details. Atlases became the most expensive books of the 16th and 17th centuries. These original maps provide a record of our countries as they were and how they were viewed at the time, combining both the history and geography to provide a unique record.