The FIRST STATE with ENGLISH TEXT of Jan Baptiste Vrients’ classic map of England, Wales and Ireland issued to celebrate the recent accession of James I to the throne. It first appeared in the English text edition of Abraham Ortelius’ ‘Theatre of the World’ published in 1606. On the death of Queen Elizabeth I in March 1603, James VI of Scotland inherited the throne. Along with uniting the Scottish and English thrones he claimed historical rights to the throne of France. The dedication of the English edition of the atlas is to “James by the grace of God, King of Great Britaine, France and Ireland” and was clearly made to cultivate sales. A similar claim appears on this map upper right. “… known in three states as well as in two variants of state 1. The parallel evolution of these states and variants is particularly interesting because of the role history, religion, international trade, and commercial marketing considerations appear to have played in their development” (Kelly).

It would later cause some difficulties for further European language editions where the predominant religion was Catholic. This is because in the first state Protestant King James I was stated as being on the throne of Catholic France. Below this is an attractive family tree of the English royal family since William the Conqueror.

The map itself is derived from the Anonymous map printed in London 1594 which itself is derived from that of Jodocus Hondius of 1592. The engravers are believed to the Arsenius brothers who have produced a magnificent map, one of the finest ever produced for the atlas. Its desirability along with the fact that it only appears in a handful of editions makes this one of the rarest Ortelius maps.

Provenance: private English collection. Kelly (2007) ‘Maps of the British Isles, England and Wales, and Ireland’, in Mappae Antiquae Liber Amicorum Günter Schilder. pp. 221-38; Shirley (1991) no. 275, see also 164 & 177; Van den Broecke, M. (1996) no. 17.