An English 17th century sea-chart of Dover to Spurn Head with the River Thames

A superb sea chart of the east coast of England from Dover to Spurn Head, orientated with north to the right, showing the Thames to London. Inland East Anglia is filled with a dedication to the Masters and Wardens of Trinity House, depicted on the mast of a warship. An inset at the top of the map shows the Thames to London in greater detail, embellished with an allegorical figure of 'Father Thames' holding a cornucopia. The chart was engraved by John Harris and first published in 'Great Britain's Coasting Pilot', an atlas of 48 charts of British waters surveyed by Captain Greenvile Collins between 1681-88. Collins, who was made Hydrographer to King Charles II in 1679, was sponsored by Trinity House, the corporation in charge of Britain's lighthouses, buoys and other navigational aids, to whom this chart is dedicated.