A 400-YEAR-old map of Flintshire drawn by a world-famous cartographer is to go under the hammer.
The antique document, created by Cheshire-born John Speed around 1611, is up for sale on internet auction site eBay.
The hand-coloured map features street-level detail of Flint, a sketch of St Winefride’s Well in Holywell and a quirky sea monster in the River Dee.
Nottinghamshire-based seller Trent Prints writes: “This is an original period issue on good quality laid paper, around 400 years old and not any kind of reproduction.
“An attractive antique map with old hand colouring showing Flintshire in North Wales with three inset street engravings.
“The Speed street plans are often the earliest plans of the area.”
It is thought the map was originally sold in Popes Head Alley, near the Royal Exchange in London, by publishers and print-sellers John Sudbury and George Humbell around 1627.
Historian Claire Harrington, principal archivist at Flintshire Record Office in Hawarden, said this rare find is among the earliest maps of Flintshire.
She said: “It shows street plans of the two most important towns in the county at the time.
“It is noticeable that neither of these is Mold, the current county town.
“It exhibits a common practice of the time, that of illustrating structures in profile.
“In addition to showing how the towns were laid out, we can also see what St Asaph Cathedral, Flint Castle and other principal buildings looked like.
“Their appearances perhaps need to be taken with a slight pinch of salt, but not so big a pinch as the presence of sea monsters in the Dee.
“The maps were printed in black and white, then hand-coloured, which makes every one unique.”
At the time of writing no-one has bid on the map, which has a starting price of £85.
The auction ends on January 6.