7. Gerardus Mercator and Jodocus Hondius. Atlas, or a geographicke description of the regions, countries and kingdomes of the world. Translated by Henry Hexham. Amsterdam, Henry Hondius and John Johnson, 1636.

Mercator was a true Renaissance man: land surveyor, instrument maker, engraver, cartographer, and scribe. In the field of cartography, apart from the projection which bears his name, he is noted for his engraved maps, which are highly regarded for their accuracy, fine engraving, and calligraphy. This celebrated Atlas (a word first used by Mercator) was first published in three parts (1585-1595). In 1606, Jodocus Hondius bought Mercator's plates and added thirty-six of his own to subsequent reissues of the Atlas. The copy displayed is open at the frontispiece which, with some artistic licence, depicts Mercator and Hondius working side by side. It is from the first edition of Hexam's translation brought out by Jodocus's son Henry. The University's copy is hand-coloured throughout.

T.G. Rylands bequest, 1900

8. Christopher Saxton. [A series of 35 maps of England and Wales. Sponsored by T. Seckford]. London, 1579.

This is the earliest collection of survey maps of England and Wales. Christopher Saxton carried out his survey under the patronage of Thomas Seckford, Master of the Court of Requests, and by the authority of Queen Elizabeth. These maps, the result of original work done with great accuracy, formed the basis for county maps for the next hundred years. Engraved on copper plates with consummate skill primarily by Flemish craftsman such as Remigius Hogenberg and Leonhard Terwoort, these maps provided a new standard of cartographic representation. The University has the second state of the first edition, which has a frontispiece showing Queen Elizabeth I as the patron of geography and astronomy. Few complete copies of the Atlas survive. Donated by Henry Yates Thompson.