By the 1630s the publication houses of Willem Blaeu and Henricus Hondius were in a race to produce ever more new maps of the world. Hondius in partnership with Jan Jansson began collecting plates of Britain and in 1636 published an ‘Appendix’ of the ‘Atlas’ including 17 maps, two of which were general ones. Unfortunately they were not ready in time for the English edition published in 1636 and are only found in the German edition. This marks the beginning of the race between the two houses to produce a separate volume devoted to England and Wales which Blaeu would win in 1645. In 1644 a further 11 maps were issued in a Dutch ‘Appendix’. Examples of maps from these early issues are very rare and highly desirable. The plates are often extensively altered for their ultimate issue in the completed work of 1646.

A very rare example of the FIRST STATE of Jan Jansson’s map of the county of Norfolk. One of the fifteen so called pre-issue maps published in 1636 before the final work was completed in 1646. The most notable feature of this early state is the larger decorative title cartouche upper right, and the lack of shields upper left. The scale of miles is moved from upper left to lower left. Frostick Norfolk 12.1; Koeman (1967-70) II ME 44 no. 414; Van der Krogt (1997-2003) 5295:1.1; Map Collectors Circle Notes and Addenda pp. 16-18; Skelton (1970) pp. 225-6.