Coloured map of Oxfordshire from the final edition of John Speed’s “Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain” published by Thomas Bassett and Richard Chiswell in 1676. Considered to be one of the most sought after of Speed’s county maps, it is surely the most decorative map of Oxfordshire. The map contains a plan of Oxford with a key to 28 important locations in the town, a vignette of two scholars studying a terrestrial globe and the coats of arms of the colleges of Oxford University with the approximate dates of their founding below. The map is dated in 1605 and, as a result, it does not include the arms of Wadham College, which had not yet been completed. Also included is the royal coat of arms surrounded by a lion and unicorn. A description of the county appears on the verso in English. The map has borders added to the top and sides with portions of the neatline replaced in manuscript and repairs to a split in the top centrefold. A presentable example of this decorative map and priced accordingly. 38.5 cm x 52.5 cm