[Turkey]. - Lot 84

[Turkey]. SPEED, John. The Turkish empire, newly augmented by John Speed. [London], Tho[mas] Bassett & Ric[hard] Chiswell, 1626-[1676]. Sheet (42 x 53.5 cm). Copper-engraved map in black (39 x 51.5 cm), hand-colored. A highly decorative figure map of the Ottoman Empire by John Speed (after the Hondius map) from the very first English atlas. It covers a vast territory stretching from Greece to the Middle East, including the Arabian Peninsula, the Black and Caspian Seas and the Red Sea. The border is decorated with eight plans of major cities in the region, including Damascus, Jerusalem, Constantinople, Rhodes and Alexandria, as well as ten vignettes depicting costumes of Greek, Egyptian, Assyrian, Arab and Persian men, accompanied by their wives. The map is also embellished with a large, richly decorated title cartouche. The original 1626 edition was published in John Speed's Atlas Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World, considered to be the first world atlas printed in England. A fine copy.