Cestria Vulgo Chester Angliae Civitas — Braun & Hogenberg — Hand-Coloured Engraved Town Plan of Chester — Circa 1580s

A finely coloured sixteenth-century bird’s-eye plan of the city of Chester, one of the most decorative and historically important early printed views of the city, engraved for inclusion in Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg’s monumental Civitates Orbis Terrarum, the great atlas of world cities first issued from Cologne in 1572 onwards. The map is titled Cestria Vulgo Chester, Angliae Civitas and presents Chester in rich miniature detail, enclosed within its famous medieval walls and encircled by the River Dee.

This engraving belongs to the golden age of Renaissance topographical printmaking and represents one of the earliest obtainable printed plans of Chester. Braun & Hogenberg’s town views combined geographical observation with heraldic display, civic pride and humanist scholarship, producing some of the most visually engaging urban images of the sixteenth century. Chester is depicted from an elevated oblique perspective, allowing the street plan, fortifications, gates, churches and principal buildings to be viewed simultaneously. The city’s Roman origins and strategic position near the Welsh border are strongly emphasised through the defensive walls and the prominence of the River Dee.

The map contains numerous decorative elements characteristic of the Civitates. These include royal and civic coats of arms, Latin cartouches, a keyed index identifying important buildings, pastoral vignettes in the surrounding countryside, and elegantly dressed foreground figures. Particularly striking is the heraldic achievement at upper left, flanked by lion and dragon supporters, together with the vivid contemporary-style hand colouring which enhances the architectural and topographical detail throughout.

Important civic and ecclesiastical structures are individually identified within the numbered key, including the cathedral, churches, gates, bridges and civic buildings. The medieval street pattern of Chester is clearly visible, with the compact walled city opening outward toward the surrounding roads and agricultural landscape. The River Dee is shown animated with shipping, reflecting Chester’s continuing commercial importance during the Elizabethan period.

Condition: Printed on laid paper with attractive early hand colouring. Size 41.8 cm x 51 cm including margins. Some age toning, marginal wear and staining and small losses to outer margins and a small amount of loss to the engraved surface. Archive repairs verso. Latin letterpress text on verso of right-hand sheet. A strong impression with generous margins. A strong, visually impressive impression of one of the most celebrated Tudor views of Chester in good condition overall.

A highly decorative and historically important early town plan, combining Renaissance cartography, heraldic art and antiquarian interest in one of England’s best-preserved medieval cities.

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