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John Ogilby (1600-1676) was an English geographer and publisher, one of the most prominent of the seventeenth century. Little is known of his early life but by 1619 he was apprenticed to John Draper, a dancing-master in London. He worked as a dancing-master, courtier, and theater owner form 1620-1641. From 1649 he worked as a poet, translator, and publisher of classical texts. It is only in the last decade of his life that he entered into geography.

In 1649, Ogilby published his first translation, of Virgil, and continued to put out translations in the 1650s and 1660s. In March 1661 he was reconfirmed as master of revels in Ireland and appointed master of the king’s imprimeries, or king’s printer. From 1662 to 1665 he was in Ireland, where he most likely met Robert Boyle. He returned to London only to lose much of his printing stock in the Great Fire of 1666. Post-fire, he became assistant surveyor to the city, where he met Robert Hooke and Christopher Wren.

In 1669, Ogilby published Embassy to China. At the same time, he planned to release atlases that would cover the entire world. These atlases would be funded via subscriptions, advertisements, and lotteries—all common practice at the time, especially for expensive multi-volume works. He released Africa and Atlas Japannensis in 1670, America in 1671 and Atlas Chinensis in 1671, and Asia in 1673. Ogilby compiled the works based on materials produced by others and they reflect a growing interest in the wider world within England.

In 1671, while producing the atlases, Ogilby secured another royal title, that of his Majesty’s cosmographer. He used this title when publishing Britannia in 1675, his best-known work. The Britannia is best described as a road atlas; it shows 2519 miles of road in 100 strip maps. This technique would be widely adopted in the subsequent century. His method of measuring with a waywiser, a large wheel, also helped to standardize the distance of the English mile at 1760 yards. The Britannia was a major achievement in early English cartography and was republished in 1698, 1719, and 1720.

Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
16.25 x 10.25 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
53619
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
21.5 x 16.5 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
88699
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
98196
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
101793
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
93435
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 10.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
92794
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14.5 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
102114
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
93437
Place/Date:
London / 1670
Size:
14.5 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
85986
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
93436
Place/Date:
London / 1670
Size:
14.25 x 10.25 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
75009
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
58032
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
57457
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
57575
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
26949
Place/Date:
London / 1675 circa
Size:
16.5 x 13 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
80963
Place/Date:
London / 1670
Size:
13.25 x 10 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
75603
Place/Date:
London / 1675 circa
Size:
17.5 x 12.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
80965
Place/Date:
London / 1670 circa
Size:
13.5 x 11.25 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
75124
Place/Date:
London / 1675 circa
Size:
17 x 12.75 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
77760
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
7 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
29660
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
6.5 x 5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
29355

Archived

Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
22 x 17 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
24854
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
22 x 17 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
31036
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
22 x 17 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
94366
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
22 x 17 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
32727
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
21.5 x 16.5 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
93243
Place/Date:
London / 1673
Size:
22 x 17 inches
Condition:
See Description
Stock#:
22982
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
57429
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
93181
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
23210
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10377
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
2748
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
12930
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
5644
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
24857
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
15 x 12 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
57029
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
43625
Place/Date:
London / 1670
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
23281
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1670 (1671)
Size:
14.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
17321
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
22387
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
25889
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
58207
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
94367
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1670 (1671)
Size:
14.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
22679
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1670 (1671)
Size:
14.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
25534
Place/Date:
London / 1670 (1671)
Size:
14.5 x 11 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
40391mp2
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
21.5 x 17.5 inches
Condition:
Good
Stock#:
91986
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
10382
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
20257
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
25521
Place/Date:
London / 1672
Size:
14 x 12 inches
Condition:
Stock#:
26097
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
8945
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
0063
Place/Date:
London/Amsterdam / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
9969
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
12234
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
26177
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
32664
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
52819
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG
Stock#:
78979
Place/Date:
London / 1671
Size:
14 x 11.5 inches
Condition:
VG+
Stock#:
68746