ANTIQUE MAP OF KENT WITH DISTANCES c.1643 by Thomas Jenner. Framed old engraving with matting and glass.

Scarce old copper-engraved miniature map with hand colour from the 17th century.

Lovely example of the map and tables of Kent in the first state of the plate published in Jenner's 'A direction for the English Traviller' London 1643, or 'A book of the names of all the hundreds contained in the shires' London 1644.

This is an original antique engraving, not a modern printed copy. Framed and professionally matted, with a glass front - just ready to be hung or displayed.

Dimensions:
Including frame: 23 by 24 cm (9 by 9.5 inches)
Engraved area visible: 10.5 by 10.5 cm (4 by 4 inches)

Good condition, nicely framed and matted

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Thomas Jenner (died 1673) was an English author, engraver, and publisher in London. He kept from 1624 a print-shop by the south entrance of the Royal Exchange; it was mended by John Evelyn to Samuel Pepys.

This map:

mon copperplate engraving by Thomas Jenner first published in his pocket road book 'A Direction for the English Traviller' in 1643.
The distance tables are copied from John Norden's 'England, An Intended Guyde' of 1625. Norden was the inventor of these tables (no map was included in his publication).
The copperplate used by Jenner for his work was originally engraved by Jacob van Langeren and published by Matthew Simmons in a publication of similar title 'A Direction for the English Traviller' in 1635. The Simmons issue included a smaller thumbnail map copied from a pack of playing cards by William Bowes of 1590.
Thomas Jenner erased the thumbnail map from the plate and replaced it with a larger map copied from the general map of England and Wales from John Speed's famous work 'The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine'.
Jenner's tables were published under various titles until 1680.
The directional references following the place names in the left column were an aid to location to the simple thumbnail map in the Simmons publication in which the map was divided into the four directions with only initial letters for the towns and are of little use for this larger map in Jenner's work. The tables were later copied (still with directional references) with armorials in a work attributed to Thomas Cox from 1720 until the end of the century.

Jacob van Langeren / Thomas Jenner \"A Direction for the English Traviller\" (1643-c1680):

The history of this road book begins in 1635 when Jacob van Langeren engraved the plates for the first Matthew Simmons edition, under the title 'A Direction for the English Traviller'. Distance tables dominated each county page, with only tiny thumbnail maps. When Thomas Jenner later acquired the plates he had them re-engraved with much larger maps for his edition of 1643. There were several later editions, some under the changed title 'A Booke of the Names of all Parishes, Market, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Smallest Places in England and Wales'. The work was last published around 1680. Despite the many editions maps from it are far mon.
The first state of the plates were published in 'A direction for the English Traviller' London 1643, or 'A book of the names of all the hundreds contained in the shires' London 1644. The subsequent issues of 'A book of the names…' (1657, 1662, & 1668) included typeset text below the plate and on the reverse of the page. The plates were retouched with some letters figures and lines strengthened for all later issues published from 1668 to 1680.

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