FIRST EDITION. This map of Leicestershire is by arguably the most famous English cartographer, John Speed (1552-1629) and was first published in the Theatre of the Empire of Great Britain, 1612. It was the first atlas of the whole British Isles. He was a tailor by trade and had a fascination for history. He used numerous sources for the counties and had the plates engraved by Jodocus Hondius in Amsterdam. The book took several years to prepare, hence earlier dates appear on some including 1610 on this map. Speed’s maps are noted for being the first to include the boundaries of the hundreds, and for introducing town plans on the maps. This includes an inset town plan of Leicester lower left with the Royal Coats-of-arms upper left. Baum (1972) pp. 45-8; Deadman (2010) pp. 24-5 st. ii; Shirley (2004) T.Spe 1b; Skelton (1970) no. 7; Tooley ‘John Speed. A Personal View’, in ‘The Map Collector’ no. 1 pp. 4-9; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).