These classic engravings by Joannes Kip (1653-1722) illustrate Sir Robert Atkyns’ ‘Present State of Gloucestershire’ published in 1712. Atkyns (1647-1710) was a topographer and the son of the Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was elected an MP for Gloucester in 1684. The superb birds-eye views are of country seats and estates and have become synonymous with the English country house. The book was published posthumously and nearly didn’t make it as many copies were destroyed in a fire at the printers in White Friars on 30 January 1712. Upcott (1968) I, p. 246.