Londinum Feracissimi Angliae Regni Metropolis – the first known map of London by Braun & Hogenberg, 1572

Description

“Londinum Feracissimi Angliae Regni Metropolis” – a famous bird’s-eye view map of London by George Braun & Frans Hogenberg, engraved and hand-coloured, published in 1st volume of their atlas of city views “Civitates Orbis Terrarium” in Cologne and Amsterdam in 1572.

The Londinum Feracissimi Angliae Regni Metropolis map was based on so-called “Copperplate map of London”, a now-lost twenty-sheet large plan of London believed to have been made between 1553 and 1559. It is the earliest true map of London (as opposed to panoramic views). Tudor London with its suburbs now extends outside the city walls. At the heart of the city is St. Paul’s cathedral with its tall spire, which was lost in a fire in 1561. The gardens of the manor houses and palaces stretch out in the direction of Charing Cross, linking the city with the royal court at Westminster. Across the Thames, spanned by the magnificent London Bridge, Southwark is depicted along with the bull/bear baiting rings, very popular sports during the Elizabethan era. The river Thames is busy with ships and boats.

Georg Braun (1541 – 1622) was a topo-geographer. From 1572 to 1617 he edited the Civitates orbis terrarum, which contains 546 prospects, bird’s-eye views and maps of cities from all around the world. He was the principal editor of the work. Braun was born and died in Cologne. His principal profession was as a Catholic cleric. His six-volume work was inspired by Sebastian Münster’s Cosmographia. The Braun publication set new standards in cartography for over 100 years.

Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. Hogenberg was born in Mechelen. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He is known for portraits and topographical views as well as historical allegories. He created the tables for Civitates orbis terrarum volumes I through IV.

This poster is a high quality “giclee” reproduction of a restored antique original, custom-printed on Standard Single-weight Matt Coated art paper 140gsm or  Heavyweight Matt Coated art paper 230gsm (more of a thin card density), or superb Epson Matt Canvas 320gsm, according to your choice. We use the latest UltraChromeHDX pigment inks which guarantee 60 years of colour  permanence (up to 200 years fade-proof for colour prints).  This poster is suitable for mounting and framing, as well as direct display on a wall.

IMPORTANT: If you are going to frame this print we recommend art paper 230gsm or canvas 320gsm. The 140gsm art paper option makes sense if you wish to DIY-frame or to tack the poster to a wall without framing, due to it being lighter and more flexible. All three options are giclee prints of the same high quality.

POSTER PRINT QUALITY

Please note that our reproduction posters are made to order and every print is checked before posting. The images we use in most cases are scans of antique originals, professionally restored in order to remove the most evident stains, folds, tears and other damage. We strive to balance the restoration and saving the overall integrity and antique appearance of the original. Our restored images are unique and these prints can be purchased only from www.VictorianMaps.com.

There will be no watermark on your image but there might be a white border depending on aspect ratio of the original. Please note that when a large antique original is reduced to a smaller size print some text may not be readable. Please check our measurements: every poster has its own aspect ratio same as original and printed exactly as pictured.