Frederick de Wit’s old map of London, traditionally dated 1693, showing the Thames, City, Westminster and Southwark

Old Map of London 1693 – Frederick de Wit

Name: Old Map of London 1693 – Frederick de Wit
SKU: 93
Price: 39.95 GBP
Availability: InStock

£39.95

Frederick de Wit’s Map of London, 1693

This late-seventeenth-century map by the Dutch cartographer and publisher Frederick de Wit presents London in the decades after the Great Fire of 1666, when the city had been substantially rebuilt but still retained the compact form of an early modern capital.

The River Thames runs prominently through the composition, separating the dense northern city from Southwark on the south bank. London Bridge remains the principal fixed crossing, while the City’s street pattern, churches and major buildings crowd the northern side of the river.

The map is especially interesting because it belongs to the great Dutch commercial mapmaking tradition of the seventeenth century. Amsterdam publishers such as De Wit supplied maps and atlases to an international market, and London was an obvious subject: wealthy, politically important and increasingly central to European trade.

De Wit’s work is admired for its clarity and decorative balance. On this London map the street pattern and urban form are presented in a way that is informative without becoming visually heavy, while the broad view allows the relationship between the City, Westminster, Southwark and the surrounding open country to be understood at a glance.

Because many of De Wit’s maps circulated over long periods and were not always dated on the plate, individual editions can be difficult to date precisely. This example is traditionally dated to 1693 and offers a compelling picture of London at the end of the Stuart period.

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Description

Frederick de Wit was one of the leading Dutch map publishers of the seventeenth century. His London map belongs to the period when Amsterdam was a major centre of European cartography and city plans circulated widely through atlases and as separate sheets.

Map Details

Mapmaker / publisher: Frederick de Wit
Date: traditionally dated 1693
Place of publication: Amsterdam
Map type: General plan of London
Period: Late Stuart London

London After the Great Fire

The map shows a city transformed by rebuilding. The Great Fire of 1666 had devastated much of the old City, and the following decades saw streets, churches and public buildings reconstructed on a vast scale.

At the same time, London was expanding beyond the old walled core. Westminster was becoming increasingly important, while Southwark remained a distinct urban district across the Thames.

The Thames and London Bridge

The river dominates the map’s geography. London Bridge links the two banks, and the long river frontage underlines the importance of waterborne trade, wharves and river transport to the city’s economy.

Frederick de Wit and Dutch Cartography

De Wit worked in Amsterdam, then one of Europe’s great centres of map publishing. His atlases and individual maps were sold internationally and became known for strong engraving, attractive presentation and broad geographical coverage.

Why This Map Is Historically Interesting

Seen alongside Tudor plans and eighteenth-century London maps, De Wit’s view captures an important intermediate stage: the rebuilt Stuart city before the dramatic Georgian expansion that followed.

Print size: approximately 24" × 28". Supplied unframed.