JOHN SPEED (1551/1552-1629) A Newe Mape of Tartary [Nouvelle carte de la Tartarie]. Londres, 1626

51.8 x 39.6 cm. Uncoloured engraved map in the ‘carte à figures’ style, with vignettes of towns including Astrakhan and Samarkand and eight figures in national costume. The map covers the region from Lake Baikal across present-day Manchuria and Siberia north of the Great Wall of China. The vignettes show important Silk Road cities: Astrakhan, Samarkand and Cambalu, the capital of Cathay. The Kingdom of China is also shown, with the wall separating it from Cathay inscribed ‘A wall of 400 leagues built between the valleys of the mountains by the King of China against the invasions of the Tartars’. The English text on the reverse gives a fascinating description of the regions. The title cartouche intended for a dedication is left blank. The map is backed with archival paper, 39.5 x 51.5 cm.