I thought you all might find it interesting.
I had no idea it was going to be my 1000's post. How fortuitous!
The print says that it was "Printed for and Sold by William Hull, at the Signe of the Angel in Fleet-street near St. Dunstans Church London."
It was engraved by John Sturt in Kinshead Court in Gutter Lane, London.
If I had to speculate on how it was made, based on how steel pens were made a century later, it was most likely a barrel pen. You would take a sheet of thin steel and bend it into a tube. You would then shape a nib out of one end with saws and files. Some slit the pen, some used the seam between the two ends of the steel sheet as the slit.
He obviously used both pointed as well as broad-point pens for this. If he used a steel pen, then his pens were of good quality, better than others would be for quite a while. (early metallic pens were always criticized for being stiff and inflexible)
It's an amazing work for both the quality of the writing as well as the flourishing and decoration.
Here's another of the figures.
There's quite a bit of research work to be done on this one sheet. Will share what I find out.
Anyone want to help me identify the various hands represented on it?