Title Page: An Exact Geography by John Speed

Art Historical Context

This striking engraving by Robert White serves as the title page for John Speed’s “An Exact Geography,” published in 1676. Created during England’s Restoration period, the print exemplifies the era’s growing appetite for accurate maps and geographical knowledge, as Speed’s works helped popularize cartography among scholars and the emerging middle class. White, a skilled London engraver known for his precise line work, translated the book’s frontispiece into a durable copperplate image that could be reproduced for wide distribution. Measuring roughly 15 by 10 inches, the plate demonstrates the technical demands of engraving: fine incisions in metal allowed for intricate lettering and decorative borders that framed the title with authority. Such prints were essential in 17th-century publishing, lending books an air of scholarly prestige while preserving the author’s cartographic legacy long after his death in 1629. Housed in the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection, this example highlights how engravings bridged art and science, inviting viewers to explore both the page and the world beyond.

About the Artist

Robert White · 1645–1703

Robert White was a British engraver and draughtsman born in London in 1645, who became one of the most accomplished portrait engravers working in England during the latter decades of the seventeenth century. He trained under David Loggan, the Polish-born engraver who was among the dominant figures of portrait printmaking in Restoration England, and from Loggan he acquired both the technical master...