Scotland, rare very large map, N. Visscher, 1690, Exactissima Regni Scotiae tabula tam in septentrionalem et meridionalem quam in minores earumden Provincia…

Extremely rare edition of the famous Scotland map by N. Visscher, with the coat of arms of King William III, dating the map shortly after 1689 when William and Mary became king and queen of Scotland, England and Ireland.

Many of the famous Dutch mapmakers would not have visited Scotland and were reliant on outlines and information culled from a variety of sources including plagiarising the maps of others! This sometimes added to the errors – particularly in the transcription of place-names, and in the depiction of the coast and islands. Distinctive geographical errors shown on this map include the flat top to the Isle of Lewis, the distortion in the alignment of the Isle of Arran, and the wavy rather than straight line marking the Great Glen.

The rarity of this edition is that the extensive index sheets are part of the total print, making it 112 cm (!) high and 53,5cm wide. The index is what Nicolaes Visscher describes aptly as ‘A Name-Shewer or Alphabeticall Table where are to be shewn all the Cities, principallest Country-Towns, Villages, Castles, Iles, and other most remarkable places in the Kingdome of Scotland, and how they are to be found on this map’. Today we might call this a locational Gazetteer, giving as it does two letters after each place entry, which relate to the almost un-noticed grid on the map. This grid has the same series of letters sited at the edges within each grid square, thus allowing us to locate the place. Significantly, the map attempts to show the old provinces of Scotland, differentiated by colour, and the end result is a highly attractive, if not quite accurate, map.

Excellent. Very rare with the extensive index (with title in Dutch and English) connected to the map. Folded as issued. Very thick and crisp paper. Strong print. Beautiful hand coloring. Reverse side blank.

Sheet 112x53,5cm
Printed area 110,5x47,5cm
Map 56x47cm