A fine example of the first printed map of the county in the usual second state. Saxton was born 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. 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. Saxton began work on his county maps in about 1574. He had this map engraved in 1577 as dated, but the atlas was not completed until 1579. It is engraved by Franciscus Scatterus who engraved just two plates for the Saxton atlas, the other being Cheshire. The first state of the map omits the Christopher Saxton imprint below the scale of miles. The atlas was priced at £5 in 1585. A very high price when Abraham Ortelius’ atlas was available for 10s. The motto in this map stayed unchanged. An instant success the plate was issued for over 120 years. King ‘Staffordshire’ no. 1; Skelton 1.