Collection search - John Dee fonds [textual record, cartographic material]

Record information – Brief
1
John Dee fonds [textual record, cartographic material]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1580.

Reference:

R17899-0-3-E, MG21-CottonianMSS.-AugustusI.I.

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

105364

Context of this record:

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John Dee fonds
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Record information – Details
Date(s):

1580.

Place of creation:

United Kingdom

Extent:

3 p. transcript and photocopy.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Fonds consists of the following: a photocopy (1 page) of a manuscript map, on a kind of polar projection, comprising North America, the Atlantic Ocean north of the Equator, and the western coasts of Europe and Africa, drawn by John Dee (1527-1608), in 1580, for Elizabeth I.

Also, transcript (2 pages) of Dee's carefully written memorandum, "A brief remembrance of sundry forein regions discovered, inhabited, and partly conquered by the subjects of this British monarchie," from the back of the map, in which Dee traces the British title to America from legendary Arthurian colonization down to the discoveries of Sir Martin Frobisher ([1535]-1594). Another map connected with Dee, derived from the British Library's Cottonian Charters XIII, No. 48, is also available in CAAD (CAAD reference NMC-8130).

Provenance:

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Dee, John, 1527-1608

Biography/Administrative history:

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Dee, John, 1527-1608 : Mathematician and astrologer.

John Dee (1527-1608) was born in London on 13 July 1527. He was the son of Rowland Dee, gentleman sewer to Henry VIII, and Johanna, daughter of William Wild. He was an intimate friend of the Flemish cartographer Gerhard Kremer alias Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594). At the request, 17 September 1580, of Elizabeth I, who wished to be informed regarding her title to countries discovered in various parts of the world, Dee drew up a hydrographical and geographical description of such countries on two large rolls that he delivered to the queen at Richmond on 3 October 1580. He died at Mortlake in December 1608.

Finding aid:

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(No finding aid)

Additional information:

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General note:

Documents created in: Mortlake, Surrey, England.

Custodial history:

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The Cottonian Manuscripts were accumulated by Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631) and his grandson, Sir John Cotton (1621-1702), who presented them to the British nation in 1700. After being severely damaged by a fire in 1731, the Cotton collection was incorporated, in 1753, in the newly founded British Museum (now the British Library), where it is maintained as a special collection. The manuscripts are numbered Julius A.I. - Faustina F.X., according to the names of the twelve Caesars and two Imperial ladies, whose busts surmounted the fourteen presses in which Cotton housed his library., Cottonian Manuscripts Augustus I, volume I, is a large portfolio containing a collection of sixteenth-century charts, plans and other drawings, English and foreign, which seems at some time to have been in the possession of William Cecil, Lord Burghley (1520-1598), before becoming part of the famous Cotton Library., In 1914, the National Archives of Canada obtained a photograph of the map in Augustus I, Volume I, No. 1, which is now available in the Cartographic and Architectural Archives Division (CAAD reference NMC-8134). At the same time, the memorandum on the back of the map was transcribed and placed in the Manuscript Division. In 1973, for the convenience of researchers, a photocopy of the CAAD copy of the map was placed with the Manuscript Division's transcript.

Location of originals note:

Originals with the British Library, London, England.

Container note(s):

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1 : T
Subject heading:

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Cartography - Great Britain, 1580 John Dee, 1580

Maps, Manuscript, 1580 Elizabeth I, Queen of England, 1580

North America - Maps, 1580 Martin Frobisher, 1580

Atlantic Ocean - Maps, 1580 King Arthur (Legend), 1580

Europe - Maps, 1580

Land titles - North America, 1580

Land titles - Europe, 1580

Land titles - Africa, 1580

Great Britain - History - Elizabeth, 1558-1603, 1580

Great Britain - Colonies - Geography, 1580

Great Britain - Colonies - Description and travel - To 1600, 1580

Title examination - North America, 1580

Title examination - Europe, 1580

Title examination - Africa, 1580

Map projection, 1580

Imperialism, 1580

Legends - Great Britain, 1580

Arctic regions, 1580

Discoveries (in geography), 1580

Africa Early works to 1600

Great Britain

Grande-Bretagne
Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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MG21-CottonianMSS.-AugustusI.I.
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Textual records

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Volume [MG21 Cottonian Mss. Augustus I. I.] 1

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Date modified:: 2024-07-04