COLLINS, Capt. Greenville (1643-1694). The River of Thames from London to the Buoy of the Nore. London: William Mount and Thomas Page, 1738

COLLINS, Capt. Greenville (1643-1694). The River of Thames from London to the Buoy of the Nore. London: William Mount and Thomas Page, 1738

2 sheets joined, (38 x 25 ½ inches, full margins showing the plate mark). Fine engraved map of the East coast of England with an inset of the River Thames (some creasing at the folds, lightly toned, some spotting).

THE FIRST HYDROGRAPHIC CHARTS OF GREAT BRITAIN. Originally published in Greenville Collins' "Great Britain's Coasting Pilot Being a New Survey of the Sea Coast" showing the coast from Dover to Barton with an inset of the river Thames from its mouth to London.  At the center of the map a maritime scene displays a cartouche and arms of the Trinity House upon a ship’s sail, 'To the Right Worppll. the Master & Wardens of the Trinity House of Deptford Strond This Mapp is most humbly Dedicatd and Presented by Capt. G: Collins.' A cartouche for the inset of the Thames reads, ‘The River of Thames from London to the Buoy of the Nore. Sold by Richd. Mount at the Postern on Great Tower Hill London,’ and next to it an allegorical figure of the river lies in the rushes with a cornucopia. A compass rose at the bottom of the map shows North oriented to the right.

Captain Greenville Collins was appointed to the position of His Majesty’s Hydrographer by Charles II in 1681, and was commanded to “make a survey of the sea coasts of the Kingdom by measuring all the sea coasts with their exact latitudes, the true plots of all harbours, rivers, roads, bays, creeks, islands, soundings, and the setting and flowing of tides’ which he surveyed over the course of seven years and finally published in 1693 (Hyde 2009). This handsome sailing chart displays both decorative and practical features and is appropriately dedicated to Collins’ patrons at the Trinity House, a guild that was established by Henry VIII in 1514, and to this day continues to be responsible for the management and conservation of lighthouses, buoys, and other navigational aids. Verner, MCS #58, 1969. Robinson p.40-43, 1962. British Library Cartographic Items Maps C.25.b.11. For more information about this map, or a warm welcome to see it and other books in our library at 72nd Street, NYC, please contact Tara Mishkovsky, M.A. in the Rare Book Department. Bookseller Inventory # 72TM003