"A Newe Mape of Tartary 1626" Framed Map of Tartary Drawn by John Speed & Engraved by Dirck Grijp - This rare piece is a highly decorative map of the Russian Empire, finely engraved by Dirck Gryp for John Speed's "Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World". The map has wide margins, with eight costume vignettes from various parts of the region down the sides and four city prospects across the top, including Astracan, Samarchand, Cambalu, and a view of the house of Nova Zembla. On the map the Caspian Sea is still wider than it is tall, the Straits on Anian (associated with the mythical Northwest Passage) appear with no sign of Kamchatka, and Korea is an island. The map presents the many geography speculations found at a time when parts of Asia were largely unexplored by Europeans. It extends from Armenia eastward to include part of North America in the top right hand corner. The map also includes the Arctic Sea and part of the Pacific Ocean. Throughout the piece, there are also several important cities, kingdoms, rivers, lakes, islands, mountains, and other topographical features. These includes important cities which were part of the ancient Silk Route, and the Great Wall of China depicted in a grand style. The map also has interesting notations throughout the piece. The map is in excellent condition, and has been professionally matted and framed in a wooden frame. The piece (including the frame) measures 25"W x 20"L. John Speed (1552-1629) is widely considered to be the most famous English cartographer of the 17th century. His atlas "The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine" contained the first set of individual county maps of England and Wales, as well as significant town plans that are in many cases the first visual records of their subjects. In 1627, two years before his death, Speed published "Prospect of the Most Famous Parts of the World" which was the first world atlas produced by an Englishman.