The map of Durham is one of the five signed by Augustine Ryther as engraver and was surveyed during 1576 along with the other northern counties. Speculation surrounds the origins of Ryther. Ralph Thoresby stated in 1715 that he was ‘probably of Leeds’ and may well indeed be related to the ennobled family of that name from Yorkshire. He was one of the earliest English born copper plate engravers and signed five of Saxton’s maps. It is quite likely he was the author of others. He went on to collaborate on the sale of the Saxton atlas. Certainly there is evidence to show that he continued to sell it after Saxton’s ten-year privilege expired. His finest works are the plates for Robert Adams depicting the Spanish Armada published in 1590. Ryther was however in debtor’s prison for the winter of 1594-95 and thereafter there is no record. Progress in production in 1576 was still slow at this stage operating as he was without an official license for support. The map of Durham is believed to have been produced later in the year.

Christopher Saxton produced one of the earliest national surveys of any kind and the first uniformly conceived cartographic survey of England and Wales. It was begun in about 1574 and completed by 1579: “in the long list of British atlases the first name is also the greatest, the name of Christopher Saxton” (Chubb). Saxton (c.1542–c.1610) was born at Dunningley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. While the details of his early life are sketchy, it is known that he attended Cambridge University, and in 1570 he was apprenticed as a map maker to John Rudd, vicar of Dewsbury. Saxton began work on his county maps in about 1574. In 1577 he received letters patent from Elizabeth I protecting his maps against plagiarism for the next ten years. As well as the Queen’s protection, Saxton also enjoyed the patronage of Thomas Seckford, Master of the Queen’s Requests, whose mottoes are found on the maps.

Evans and Lawrence wrote that he “left a legacy of maps of the counties of England and Wales from which succeeding generations of map-makers drew extensively … amazingly accurate in detail, [the atlas] survives as testimony to his expertise when surveying techniques and comprehension of the mathematical sciences were still limited.” They are arguably the most highly prized by collectors of county maps. Provenance: private Scottish collection. Barber (2007) pp. 1623-31; Chubb (1927) I; Evans & Lawrence (1979) pp. 9–43; Harley, Brian ‘The Map Collector’ no. 8 pp. 2-11; Hind (1952-55) vol. 1 p. 73; Lawrence, Heather ‘Christopher Saxton’ in ‘The Map Collector’ 27 pp. 16-18; Shirley (1991) no. 128; Shirley (2004) T.Sax 1b-e; Skelton (1970) 1; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).