BELFAST LOUGH sea chart. 1690 William III at Carrickfergus. COLLINS 1693 map

Captain Greenvile (or Greenville) Collins. Collins was an officer of the Royal Navy and prominent hydrographer, who was commissioned by King Charles II in 1676 and appointed by Samuel Pepys (then Secretary to the Admiralty), to chart the coasts of Great Britain. The resulting atlas - Great Britain's Coasting Pilot - was the first original sea atlas to be produced by an Englishman. Prior to publication of these maps, nautical charts were often defective, and there was no centralised system for collecting and disseminating the better maps made by experienced seamen. In 1681, Collins gained the king's preferment to survey the country's coasts. The Admiralty supplied Collins with the 8-gun yacht HMS Merlin for the first two years and later the yacht HMS Monmouth until 1686. His work was carried out under the supervision of Trinity House, who also supported the project financially. Samuel Pepys insisted that Collins be made a younger brother of Trinity House. Collins spent seven years on the survey, the first edition of which was published in 1693, as "Great Britain's Coasting Pilot". The charts, while not completely accurate, were an enormous advance on anything before them, entitling Collins to rank as not only one of the earliest, but also among the best of English hydrographers. Twenty-one further editions were published during the eighteenth century.

"Great Britain's Coasting Pilot: being a new and exact survey of the sea-coast of England and Scotland from the river of Thames to the westward and northward; with the islands of Scilly and from thence to Carlile...", by Captain Greenvile Collins, Hydrographer in Ordinary to the King and Queen's most Excellent Majesties. London: printed by Freeman Collins, and are to be sold by Richard Mount Bookseller, at the Postern on Tower-Hill, 1693

Good; suitable for framing. Spot; Light spotting in margin. Please check the scan for any blemishes prior to making your purchase. Please contact us if you would like to arrange to view this map. This is a folding map. There is nothing printed on the reverse side, which is plain

Packing

Items smaller than A4 size are usually packed in a stiffened, board-backed envelope. Larger items are rolled and packed in postal tubes. Large items which are too stiff to be rolled in wide-diameter tubes are mailed in all-board envelopes. In the unlikely event of damage in transit, please send the affected item or items back to us and we will provide a replacement or refund.

Delivery

Economy, tracked and express shipping options are available to all destinations worldwide. Over half our orders are sent to customers outside the United Kingdom and we have supplied over 30,000 buyers in over 70 different countries. We ship orders virtually every business day to customers in North America and Europe. The cost of delivery depends on the size of the largest item in your order, where you are located, and the delivery method that you choose at checkout. For orders received before 2pm, we can arrange delivery next day in the UK, within 2 business days to continental Europe and North America, and within 4 days to most other countries worldwide (excludes PO Box or APO/FPO (Military) addresses).

Returns

We accept returns for any reason if sent back to us within 14 days of receipt of your order. If any of your items are not as described, we will provide a full refund including reasonable return postage costs upon safe return to us. If you have changed your mind, you are responsible for the cost of returning the item to us. We describe the size, age and condition of all our products as fully and accurately as possible. Most of the items which we sell are in very good condition. However, the condition of antique and vintage prints and maps can vary. All of our product listings including a statement which classifies the condition as being either “Good”, “Fair”, or (rarely) “Poor” and which describes any material flaws, blemishes, imperfections or other significant features such as folds. Please read the description carefully before purchase.