Old Map of Ireland in 1611 by John Speed - Dublin, Cork, Belfast, Monochrome Edition

This map of Ireland was created by John Speed and engraved by Jodocus Hondius, first published in 1611 as part of Speed's landmark county atlas, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine. Speed's atlas was among the earliest attempts to map the British Isles to a consistent standard, and this Ireland sheet remains one of the most historically significant printed views of the island to survive from the early 17th century. This particular print is presented in monochrome, offering a cleaner, more graphic reading of Speed's original design than the hand-coloured edition, letting the fine detail of Hondius's engraving come through without the added layer of period colouring.

Dublin appears as the island's principal city and seat of English administration in Ireland, already established as the centre of government by the time this map was drawn. Cork is shown as a major southern port, its harbour long connected to trade with continental Europe, while Belfast appears as a comparatively modest settlement, more than a century before the linen and shipbuilding industries would transform it into one of Ireland's largest cities. The map divides the island into its four historic provinces, Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht, each recorded with the towns, rivers and coastal features that Speed's surveyors and sources judged most significant at the start of the 17th century.

This monochrome edition suits a collector who already owns our full-colour printing of the same 1611 Speed map of Ireland and wants a genuinely different reading of the same historic plate, as well as anyone who prefers the cleaner, more graphic look of an uncoloured engraving. It also makes a fitting gift for anyone with Irish family roots looking for one of the earliest detailed printed views of the island. It is available unframed in a full range of sizes, from a compact study print to a larger statement piece for a hallway or sitting room.