Camden's Britannia

William Camden’s Britannia, first published in 1586, was a groundbreaking topographical and historical survey of Britain. Early Latin editions contained no maps. The 1607 edition introduced the first full set, engraved by William Kip and Christopher Saxton, based on Saxton’s earlier county surveys. A major cartographic advance came with the 1695 English edition, edited by Edmund Gibson, which featured newly engraved, highly decorative and detailed county maps by Robert Morden. His maps were retained through the three further Gibson editions of 1722, 1753, and 1772. These were followed by Richard Gough’s expanded and annotated editions in 1789 and 1806, which included modernised commentary and newly engraved maps by John Cary, reflecting the latest geographical knowledge of the Georgian era. Together, these editions chart the transformation of Britannia from a scholarly Latin text into one of the most important and visually rich geographic works in English history.