RICHARD NICHOLSON of CHESTER
A WORLD OF ANTIQUE MAPS AND PRINTS
The Cartographer
Michael Drayton
but it probably should read William Hole
1612 - 22 Strange maps of parts of England and Wales
Maps like no other adorned with nymphs and shepherds
List of Maps in the Poly-Olbion
First published in 1612
Cornwall & Devon
Dorset & Hampshire
Somerset & Wiltshire
Glamorgan & Monmouth
Pembrokeshire & Carmarthen
Cardigan/Montgomery/Radnorshire
Herefordshire & Worcestershire
Shropshire
Caernarvonshire & Merionethshire
Denbighshire & Flintshire
Cheshire
Staffordshire
Warwickshire
Gloucestershire & Worcestershire
Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire
Middlesex & Hertfordshire
Surrey & Sussex
The following maps come from the second part of the Poly-Olbion, published in 1622
Kent
Essex & Suffolk
Norfolk
Cambridgeshire
Bedfordshire & Huntingdonshire
Northamptonshire
Rutlandshire
Lincolnshire
Derbsyhire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire
Lancashire & Isle of Man
Yorkshire
Northumberland
Cumberland & Westmorland
The Man
Drayton was born at Hertshill, Atherstons, Warwickshire in 1563. An Elizabethan poet and friend of Shakespeare, but to mapmakers he is known for this series of strange and unusual maps of the counties of England and Wales. There are no county boundaries but the countryside is inhabited by shepherds, women and adorned with naked water nymphs.
The work was started in 1598 and in 1612 the first volume appeared illustrated by 18 maps. It was reissued in 1613 but it wwas another nine years that the second part was published with a further 12 maps.
The work was not hand coloured at the time so coloured maps you find will have been worked on in more recent times.
Drayton died in 1631 and was buried in Westminster Abbey.
Poly-Olbion of a Chrographical description of Tracts, Rivers, Mountains, Forest and other Parts of this renowned Isle of Great Britain
Titlepage and Pages
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Fronispiece to Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbion 1612
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Michael Drayton's dedication in the Poly-Olbion to Prince Hnery Frederick, Prince of Wales
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Engraving of Henry Prince of Wales in Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbion, 1612
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Kent song from Michael Drayton's Poly-Olbiion 1612
Gallery
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Map of Denbighshire and Flintshire by Michael Drayton
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Map of Kent by Michael Drayton
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Map of Cheshire by Michael Drayton
More Information to Come
RICHARD NICHOLSON
of CHESTER
Stoneydale
Pepper Street
Christleton
Chester
CH3 7AG
Telephone
01244 336004
International 44 1244 336004
I have been buying and selling antique maps since the early 1960's during which time I had a gallery in Watergate Street, Chester for 30 years. I am now able to offer through my websites a personal service to map and print collectors.
