Johannes Kip (1653-1722), after Leendert Knijff (1650-1721)

Britannia Illustrata was one of the most important topographical books of the 18th century. The work, by Joannes Kip (1653-1722), was first published in 1707 with 80 plates under the title Britannia Illustrata; by 1716 three more volumes were added to it, and in 1728 a supplement was issued. The plates produced for this earlier work were engraved from "bird's-eye" drawings of Leonard Knyff (1650-1722), a fellow Dutchman who had come to London sometime after 1676. As the work expanded, plates were added by Kip and other eminent artists, forming a valuable record of the houses of the landed gentry during this flourishing era of expansion. See Berlin Kat. 2328.