Britannia: Or a Chorographical Description of Great Britain and Ireland [Title Page]

First published in Latin in 1586, William Camden’s Britannia is a foundational Renaissance-era historical study of Ireland and Great Britain. It offered, for the first time in British history, a printed county-by-county description (with the 1607 and later editions accompanied by maps) that synthesized antiquarian sources with contemporary geographic studies. The results, updated across numerous editions, reflect an important early scholarly assessment of the foundations of Britain in the Roman Era. The title page comes from the second revised English edition, edited by Edmund Gibson, Bishop of Lincoln, and published in London in 1722. Of particular interest, for this version, is that the contents (including this sheet) feature two-toned woodblock printing by Mary Matthews. The discoloration in the center is caused by the application of an old bookplate on the verso – a heraldic crest with three stars and the Latin motto Tempus Edax Rerum (Time, devourer of all things) – a fitting sentiment for a work dedicated to the preservation of ancient history.