ANVILLE (Jean-Baptiste d'). - Lot 43

ANVILLE (Jean-Baptiste d'). Nouvel atlas de la Chine, de la Tartarie chinoise, et du Thibet: contenant Les Cartes générales & particules de ces Pays, ainsi que la Carte du Royaume de Corée; La plupart levées sur les lieux par ordre de l'Empereur Cang-hi avec toute l'exactitude imaginable, soit par les PP. Jésuites Missionaires à la Chine, soit par des Tartares du Tribunal des Mathématiques, & toutes revûës par les mêmes Peres... Précédé d'une description de la Boucharie. The Hague: Henri Scheurleer, 1737. - Large folio, 532x400: 12 pp. 42 maps. Stiff parchment, smooth spine (period binding). Very important atlas representing a major milestone in the history of cartography, offering the most detailed and rigorous description of the Chinese Empire in the 18th century. The result of meticulous geodetic surveys carried out between 1708 and 1716 by Jesuit missionaries on the orders of the Kangxi emperor, this atlas was initially incorporated into Père Du Halde's monumental work Description géographique, historique, chronologique, politique et physique de l'empire de la Chine (1735), before being republished separately with improved and re-engraved maps by d'Anville, royal geographer. The work went through two editions, one published in Paris and the other in The Hague. This copy comes from the Hague edition, with the original Relation de la Boucharie at the head, followed by 42 highly accurate maps, several of them folding. This atlas surpasses all previous atlases in terms of accuracy, becoming an essential reference for subsequent works. Among its most striking innovations are the first Western representation of Tibet, and the map of Korea finally drawn as an Asian peninsula, putting an end to the persistent error of describing it as an island. The atlas also includes the first cartographic publication of the expeditions of Danish navigator Vitus Béring (1681-1741), with a pioneering map of Kamchatka and Alaska, including St. Lawrence Island, marking a decisive advance in knowledge of the northeastern confines of Asia. These remarkably clear maps not only served as a basis for subsequent explorations, but also influenced Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu and Voltaire, offering a precise and scientific vision of Asia. A copy in contemporary binding, fully mounted on tabs. Stains and soiling to binding, corners and edges of boards damaged and missing. Light spotting at the top of the text leaves, some soiling, tear without missing leaf C2. The maps are very well preserved, with only light soiling in places.