Richard Blome (1635-1705) died in 1705 and left his estate to Mrs Jane Hilton with whom he had been living for many years. The bequest was challenged by his family which no doubt was the cause of the delay before the plates were used again. By 1715 the book, map and print seller Thomas Taylor (c.1670-1730) had acquired the plates. Blome had first published these plates as ‘Speed’s Maps Epitomiz’d’ in 1681 and 1685. They were then included in ‘Cosmography and Geography’ published in 1693. All these works are exceedingly rare.

For this edition Taylor removed the earlier ‘Great Brittaine’ map and replaced it with a map of England and Wales. A map of Rutland, not available in earlier issues, was newly engraved. Those of Scotland and Ireland followed later. It was first advertised in the ‘Daily Courant’ on 24 September 1715 ‘to be sold singly for 2d. a Map, or in a Sett Bound at 3 half Pence per Mapp’. In early September the Jacobite Rebellion broke out and by the first week of November Taylor advertised a map of Scotland dated 1715 was available. That of Ireland dated 1716 followed later. This edition is dated from an advert placed in the ‘Daily Courant’ 1 March 1716/17. It bears a re-worded title and four new leaves describing the roads. It was described as being ‘with the Post Roads and Measured Miles from Town to Town, according to Mr. Ogilby’s Survey of the Roads … with a New Table of the Roads …’ To each map, Taylor has added roads and distances in small circles. Provenance: private English collection. ESTC T166162; Hodson (1984-97) 140; Shirley (2004) T.Blom 3f; Worms & Baynton-Williams (2011).