An unusual allegorical map of the British Isles attributed to the great engraver Wenceslaus Hollar. A finely etched map surrounded by a total of seventeen vignettes keyed to the descriptive verse in four columns below the image. This piece provides a satirical political look on two wars, the Thirty Years War and the English Civil War. The inset to the right illustrates the Battle of Prague in 1620. The whole is surrounded by ‘historical scenes, with accompanying rhyming couplets along the lower border, relating to contemporary political events in England and Europe’ (Baynton-Williams). The item had clear influence being copied by two further engravers, this original example is etched and bears eight ships in the North Sea, the copies bear ten and seven ships. This is an example of the third state. Baynton-Williams. Provenance: P. J. Radford 1971; re-margined by Camberwell School of Arts & Crafts 1984; private collection of Rodney Shirley, Ashley and Miles (2007) ‘Maps of War’ pp. 32-3; British Library (1870) ‘Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires’ vol. 1, pp. 107-9; Pennington ‘Hollar’ no. 543; Shirley ‘Early Printed Maps of the British Isles’ no. 529 (since re-dated to 1659).