Old Colour Map of Wales, Cymru by John Speed, 1610

This is a rare full colour map of Wales in 1610, created by John Speed - by far the best and most notable British cartographer of the Stuart era. The map was originally published in 1610 in Speed's The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine which would remain one of the finest atlases of the British Isles for a couple of centuries.

Around the edges of the map there are beautiful embellishments, including 16 views of what various Welsh towns looked like back in the 1600s.

This map looks great at all sizes: 12x16 inches (31x41cm), 18x24 inches (45.5x61cm) and 24x36 inches (61x91.5cm), but it looks even better when printed large.

I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 52x70 inches (130x180cm). Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.

The model in the listing images is holding the 20x16 inch (50x40cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

I also have this same map, but in its original monochrome form. Depending on your room’s aesthetic/decor, you might prefer this version.

Most of Wales' most notable towns, villages and cities are already clearly visible in this old map - though some towns and counties had slightly different names back then, like Brecon used to be called Breknok, and Pembrokeshire used to be Penbrokshire.

Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, Denbigh, Carnarvon, Carmarthen, Bangor, Abergavenny, Hay on Wye - they're all here, along with their counties, rivers, villages, mountains and more. This is a wonderfully detailed map of Wales.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for someone from Wales or who has Wales close to their heart.

This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.