'Poly-Olbion' - Midle Sex Hartford Shyre.

A very decorative map of Middlesex and Hertfordshire, from Michael Drayton's fantastical "Poly-Olbion" or "Chorographical Description of all the Tracts, Rivers, Mountains, Forests and other parts of the Renowned Isle of Great Britain," engraved by William Hole for the 1612 edition the first part.

The map ignores political boundaries and focuses on natural features, with hills and rivers populated by allegorical figures. Only major towns are marked, including Hartford, St Albans, Brent, Enfield, Highgate, Hampstead, and the River Colne. 'Watling Street, The first great way of England' is also marked.

Michael Drayton, a prominent poet and friend of William Shakespeare, is believed to have started work on his 'Poly-Olbion' in 1598. This epic topographical poem, divided into thirty songs written in alexandrine couplets, ran to nearly 15,000 lines of verse. Each song described one, two, or three counties, describing their topography, traditions, and histories. The First Part was published in 1612, with eighteen maps probably engraved by William Hole, who signed the frontispiece. Drayton had been a favorite of Queen Elizabeth's court. Still, it was not quite so popular with James I. Perhaps to rectify this, the 'Poly-Olbion' was dedicated to Henry, Prince of Wales, but Henry died in 1612, the year of publication. The work did not sell well, and it was not until 1622 that Drayton could find a publisher for the second part, which contained ten more maps.
Drayton intended to compose a further part to cover Scotland, but no part of this work is known to have survived. Despite these setbacks, Drayton was still prominent enough to be buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey when he died in 1631. It was only posthumously that the Poly-Olbion became a literary classic.

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