A map of Scotland, from the first large-scale atlas of the British Isles, Speed's 'Theatre'. Running down the left of the map is a decorative border, with portraits of James VI of Scotland (and I of England), and of his son and heir, Henry, Prince of Wales and Ireland (who would die in 1612), while, running down the right of the map are portraits of James's wife, Anna, and of James's second son, Charles, Duke of York and Albany, who would go on to become King Charles I. Top-right is an inset map of the Orkney Islands.

Speed's map of Scotland is famous for the radical alterations made to its borders during the Interregnum. For the 1652 edition of Speed's 'Theatre', the royal portraits and coats-of-arms would be erased, replaced by figures of Scottish characters ("A Scotch Man"; "A Highland Man"; "A Scotch Woman"; and "A Highland Woman".)

John Speed (1552-1629) was the outstanding cartographer of his age. By trade a merchant tailor, but by proclivity a historian, it was the patronage of Sir Fulke Greville, poet and statesman, that allowed him to pursue this interest in earnest. His 'Theatre of Great Britain', from which the present work is drawn, was first published in 1611 or 1612 and is "the earliest English attempt at atlas-production on a grand scale" (Skelton). Drawing heavily on the work of Saxton and Norden, little of Speed's cartography is original (he acknowledges, "I have put my sickle into other mens corne"), instead it is his blend of cartography and history, incorporating town-plans, vignettes, and genealogy, that makes Speed an innovator.