Blaeu, Johannes.

Folio (475 x 325mm.), Dutch text, pictorial engraved title and 17 double-page engraved general and regional maps of China and Japan, contemporary hand colour, ownership inscription in ink on title, contemporary calf, without the printed half-title, title slightly chipped, some occasional light offsetting, some light staining at upper margins (affecting some maps, particularly towards end of volume), small wormholes at lower edge (not affecting text), spine and sides rubbed

Koeman I BL 52; van der Krogt 2:52

The condition of this item is as described in the catalogue description
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The first printed European atlas of China.

This work forms the sixth volume of Blaeu's Theatrum, after Father Martino Martini's surveys, and displays the unique collaboration between Martini, the Jesuit Superior of Hangchow, and the Amsterdam cartographer, Johannes Blaeu.

The atlas came to publication after Martini's return to Europe in the early 1650s, when he entrusted Jesuit manuscript surveys of China and Japan into Blaeu's care. The resulting atlas of seventeen maps, entitled the Atlas Sinensis, made its first appearance in print in Amsterdam in 1655 (with a general map of China, fifteen maps of provinces and a separate map of Japan).

For the period, the maps were remarkably accurate, with many of the towns positioned by astromomical observation. This atlas, with its text largely after Martini's Sinicae historiae, remained the standard work until the appearance of du Halde's Description... de l'empire de la Chine in 1735 with its maps after the Jesuit surveys of 1708-1718 (see lot 55).