In 1739 John Pine (1690-1756) published ‘The Tapestry Hangings of the House of Lords’. It is arguably the finest quality engraved work produced in England. It celebrated the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Lord Howard of Effingham commissioned two different works in celebration. Robert Adams produced in 1590 a series of eleven copper plate engravings by Augustine Ryther showing the progress of the battle through the English Channel. The second work was a series of ten tapestries by the Dutchman Hendrik Cornelius Vroom. These eventually hung in the House of Lords until destroyed by a fire in 1834. It is these images which John Pine used in his work of 1739. The contents of the work vary, some examples bear two additional works both dated 1740. These are a map of Devon and Cornwall offered here and a map of the River Thames.

This map is based on the manuscript which survives today in the Cotton Collection in the British Library (Cotton Augustus 1 vol. 1 Article 6), it bears a similarly worded title. The coastlines are noted with bays, inlets and towns along with an extensive network of fortifications and earthworks. Armed forces are depicted either with pikes or muskets. The manuscript is unsigned but we have no reason to believe that it was not the work of Robert Adams. The only difference with the manuscript is the addition of a fine compass rose in the Bristol Channel and the ornate title cartouche. The title even refers to the origin “Taken from the Original in the Cottonian Library”. The whole is decorated with an elaborate border. A decent example of a rare item. Almond ‘Maps of the Spanish Armada’ IMCoS Journal no. 109 pp. 7-13; Schrire, Jonathan ‘Adams’ & Pine’s Maps of the Spanish Armada’, in Map Collector’s Circle no. 4; Shirley (2004) G.Pin 1b no. 8.