Old Map of Anglesey, Wales in 1611 by John Speed - Beaumaris, Holyhead, Bangor

This reproduction reproduces John Speed's 1611 map of Anglesey, one of the county maps from his landmark atlas The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, the first comprehensive county-by-county survey of England and Wales. Speed drew on the latest surveying knowledge of the early Jacobean period, and the plate was engraved in Amsterdam by Jodocus Hondius, whose fine copperplate work gives the map its characteristic crisp lettering and decorative detail. As one of the earliest printed maps to focus solely on this island county off the north-west coast of Wales, it remains a landmark document in the history of Welsh cartography.

Many of the settlements that still define Anglesey today are already recorded on Speed's map, even though Llangefni, the modern county town, had not yet emerged as the island's centre. In the top right corner sits a detailed engraving of Beaumaris, the county town of Anglesey at the time, shown with its castle and harbour, while Holyhead is marked on the western coast as the island's principal port, and Bangor appears on the adjoining mainland shore, just across the narrow strait that separates Anglesey from the rest of Wales. The map is filled with the smaller parishes, bays, and inlets that made up early seventeenth-century Anglesey, offering a fascinating comparison with the island's present-day towns and villages.

This map makes a natural housewarming gift for anyone moving to Anglesey or north Wales, a thoughtful work-leaving or retirement present for a colleague returning to the island, and an anniversary or wedding gift for a couple with Welsh heritage. It also suits a Christmas gift for a family historian researching Anglesey ancestry, or a distinguished corporate gift for a business with north Wales connections. The fine engraved detail from Speed and Hondius's original 1611 plate, including every parish boundary and coastal inlet, has been carefully restored for a crisp, richly detailed print.