Saturday 21 January 2012

Amazing Stuff

I love research.

Researching 17th Century road routes in England has thrown up some absolutely fabulous hand-drawn maps - the first "road atlas" of Britain in fact. Beautiful!

Made by a gentleman by the name of John Ogilby who was apparently a Scottish translator and "impresario", and who according to the maps themeselves became 'His Ma.ties Cosmographer' or what we would now call a cartographer, the maps are in the form of an unravelling scroll with a linear journey along the designated road.

And they have wonderful details, such as 'bad road', and 'Stone bridge 2 arches & Brook', and an unmistakable diagram outside some towns with the word 'Gallowes' beside it. *shudder*

(And yes, I am pressing on apace with the second book in the Witherstone trilogy, The Hunt Begins...)

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