17th Annual Student Research Conference
Fine Arts
The Art of Cartography in its Political Context: John Ogilby's London to Holyhead
Nathan A. Wales
Dr. Julia DeLancey, Faculty Mentor
While cartography in England during the seventeenth century lagged behind continental Europe, under Charles II, John Ogilby revolutionized the art as the Royal Cartographer. Ogilby’s most important creation, Britannia, consisted of a full cartographic survey of England and Wales. Among the many maps and statistics in the book, strip maps provide travelers with the necessary information to travel between specific locales. One of the strip maps, London to Holyhead [1675] appeared in the Cole Collection at the Truman State University Art Gallery. The strip map is a unique representation of the journey from London to Holyhead. While the print is visually attractive, the work is best understood in the political context of the time. Holyhead served as the closest port of departure to the recently-colonized island of Ireland. This paper examines the political influences on the inclusion of the trip between London and Holyhead into John Ogilby’s Britannia.
Keywords: Cartography, John Ogilby, Baroque, England, Seventeenth Century, Map
Topic(s):Art History
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 40-4
Location: OP 2210
Time: 4:30