Devon – 1645

Name: Devon – 1645
Brand: The Old Map Company
SKU: MAP-ID-3628

Price range: £35.55 through £59.95

Old Map of Devon 1645 engraved and published by William Blaeu Circa 1645

Transport yourself to the 17th century with a faithful reproduction of Joan Blaeu’s 1645 map of Devon from Theatrum Orbis Terrarum. This masterpiece of Dutch cartography highlights the county’s distinct dual-coastal geography, historical hundreds, rugged moorlands, and strategic maritime havens, embellished with exquisite heraldry and a neoclassical cartouche.

The intricate copperplate linework provides a captivating historical window into the pre-industrial West Country, capturing a time when Devon was deeply entangled in the logistical and military struggles of the English Civil War. Every detail of the historic shire has been meticulously preserved from the original hand-coloured engraving, guiding the eye past ancient market towns and grand aristocratic estates, down to the bustling river valleys and sheltered anchorages that powered traditional coastal commerce.

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A stunning certified FINE ART PRINT on heavy textured art paper — not a poster

Direct from the publisher — no middlemen
Printed in-house in Cornwall
Free UK delivery — international shipping available
Produced to meet — and often exceed — museum-quality standards

Size

Clear

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small 19.5″ x 14″ medium 24" x 18" large 31" x 24"

Fine Art Map Reproductions – Museum-Quality Printing

Unlike most online offerings, our maps are produced entirely in-house, not outsourced to print-on-demand or drop-shipping services. This allows complete control over quality while offering better value. Each map begins with a high-resolution original, carefully enhanced and printed to order using archival papers and pigment inks for exceptional clarity, depth, and longevity. Every piece is personally overseen — no map leaves our workshop unless it is of a quality we would be proud to display ourselves.

Authentic Old Map Paper & Accurate Colour Reproduction

Paper choice is essential to the authenticity of our maps. We use specially sourced 190gsm paper made in the UK from pure materials and traditionally pressed with natural woollen felts. This process creates a subtle, randomly textured surface that closely resembles an original antique document. Likewise the use of premium quality ink fully saturates the paper, producing remarkable clarity, depth, and historical character. Colour fastness and sharpness will remain good for in excess of 100 years!

Buy Old Maps Online in the UK Today Trading online since 1999

The Old Map Company of Great Britain offers a vast and carefully curated collection of the very finest expertly reproduced vintage maps. Our range includes works by renowned cartographers such as John Speed and Willem Blaeu, covering Scotland, England, and beyond. Free UK courier delivery is included, with EU, USA, and worldwide shipping available at cost and calculated at checkout. If you need assistance, our team is always happy to help you choose the perfect map.

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The Maritime Shire of Devonshire in the Golden Age of European Cartography

Joan Blaeu’s magnificent 1645 map of Devonshire, published in Amsterdam as part of his landmark Theatrum Orbis Terrarum sive Atlas Novus, stands as a monumental achievement from the absolute zenith of the golden age of Dutch cartography. This exceptional document reflects a period of intense commercial, intellectual, and artistic rivalry between the elite printing houses of the Netherlands, most notably the fierce competition between the Blaeu workshop and their cross-town rival, Jan Jansson. While England was internally fractured by the logistical chaos and socio-political upheavals of the First English Civil War, continental masters like Joan Blaeu were working meticulously to compile, refine, and print the most geographically advanced and visually luxurious records of the British landscape ever produced. The resulting copperplate engravings were far more than utilitarian geographical references; they were high-status luxury commodities destined for the private libraries of European monarchs, international merchant princes, and the landed aristocracy who collected fine art as an explicit symbol of worldly authority.

Blaeu’s depiction of Devonshire masterfully documents the vast, dual-coastal topography that defines this historic southwestern county. Stretching from the wave-battered, rugged cliffs of the Bristol Channel in the north to the busy, sheltered trading bays of the English Channel in the south, the county’s physical layout is presented with breathtaking clarity. By utilizing advanced copperplate engraving techniques, Blaeu’s studio achieved a precision of linework and depth of visual contrast that allowed for an immense density of local nomenclature without cluttering the paper canvas. Every individual village church spire, gated gentleman’s manor estate, watermill, and ancient boundary line is rendered with its own geographic dignity, preserving an invaluable historical window into a Jacobean landscape that stood on the absolute precipice of modern maritime, agricultural, and industrial development.

The Ancient Hundreds and the Diverse Agrarian Interior of the West Country

A central focus of Blaeu’s Devonshire survey is its meticulous delineation of the county’s ancient administrative divisions, known traditionally as the Hundreds. From Roborough and Plympton in the southwest to Braunton and Fremington in the north, these ancient boundaries are recorded with great fidelity. The text characters mapping the interior landscapes reveal an era when Devonshire society was deeply anchored to its ancient open-field farming systems, wool-producing hillsides, and unique local legal jurisdictions. The political landscape captured here reflects a county torn by conflicting loyalties during the 1640s, where fortified towns and rural manors frequently changed hands between Royalist and Parliamentarian forces.

In the center of the shire, the map forms a striking visual landscape around the massive granite uplands of Dartmoor and the rolling ridges of Exmoor. Blaeu represents these wild, elevated territories using stylized hill profiles, creating a beautiful tactile texture across the paper canvas. This isolated landscape was essential to Devonshire’s wealth, hosting massive flocks of sheep that provided the raw wool for the local textile trade and supporting early stannary towns where tin mining was regulated under independent legal frameworks. Shoppers searching for ancestral roots will find immense satisfaction in identifying the historic market towns and boroughs of the interior, including Tiverton, Tavistock, Honiton, and Okehampton. The spelling variations used by Blaeu’s Dutch engravers offer a fascinating blend of local phonetic pronunciations and classical Latin cartographic style, turning the exploration of smaller hamlets into a rewarding journey of historical deduction.

Strategic Deep-Water Ports, Navigable Rivers, and Maritime Commerce

Given its expansive frontage along two distinct coastlines, the maritime infrastructure of Devonshire receives magnificent emphasis on this print, highlighting the vital natural channels that shaped regional transit and economic growth. Blaeu’s studio decorated the surrounding waters with elegant wave graphics, traditional deep-sea galleons, and allegorical sea monsters to symbolise the county’s deep reliance on seafaring commerce, naval defense, cross-channel fishing fleets, and global exploration. The intricate lines of the coast track the vital havens and river mouths that shaped Elizabethan and Stuart seafaring history.

The map details the immense strategic importance of Plymouth Sound and the Hamoaze, marking out the naval launchpads used by historic explorers, privateers, and naval fleets. Further east along the southern coast, the busy trading estuaries of Dartmouth, Salcombe, and the River Exe leading up to the historic city of Exeter are mapped with remarkable detail. Exeter is prominently identified as the major administrative and commercial beating heart of the southwest, controlling the wealthy export trade of Devonshire serge and woollen cloth to the continent. Along the rugged northern coast, the exposed ports of Barnstaple, Bideford, and Ilfracombe are accurately recorded, capturing the wild coastal topography that fueled centuries of mariner folklore, cross-channel fishing fleets, and transatlantic merchant trading routes.

The Artistic Anatomy and Heraldic Splendour of the Blaeu Studio

What completely elevates this Joan Blaeu print from a regional geographic survey into a stunning work of gallery art is the magnificent arrangement of decorative and heraldic elements that frame the map. The upper portion of the canvas is adorned with beautifully rendered, high-contrast heraldic crests representing the premium noble titles connected directly to the land. The royal arms of the House of Stuart sit proudly at the top, balanced by the exquisite armorial shields of the historic Earldom of Devon and the local aristocratic dynasties that held sway over the shire’s estates. These armorial features were meticulously researched by the Amsterdam workshop to ensure absolute accuracy, serving as both a mark of historical validation and a brilliant marketing masterstroke to secure wealthy British patronage.

The lower margins are anchored by a highly sophisticated neoclassical title cartouche. This architectural frame is flanked by beautifully drawn figures that personify the rural wealth, agrarian success, and maritime heritage of the Devonshire people. The scale of miles is nestled within its own dedicated plinth, complete with playful cherubs utilizing brass dividers and surveying chains to ground the artwork in the scientific precision of the age. By keeping all text elements separate from the background graphic layer, this print retains its status as a clean, searchable historical document while delivering the deep visual contrast of a traditional copperplate impression.

Devon – 1645

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Fine Art Map Reproductions – Museum-Quality Printing

Authentic Old Map Paper & Accurate Colour Reproduction

Buy Old Maps Online in the UK Today Trading online since 1999

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