Asia

This uncommon lithographed map of Hong Kong, drawn by Monsignor Simeone Volonteri (1831–1904), represents a significant milestone in the cartographic history of the region. It is the first known bilingual map of Hong Kong, featuring place names in both Roman and Chinese scripts. The lithographic plate was prepared in 1873 in Milan and subsequently published in 1874 in Paris to accompany Volonteri’s...

Place: Paris / MIlan
Date: 1874
Size: 25 cm x 30 cm (print): 30.5 cm x 44 cm (sheet)
Item Number: 8711

Uncommon Jesuit maps of the river system centered on Hanoi and the Gulf of Tonkin. These maps were first published in 1810 in Lyon, France, in the "Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses" (with "Tom. 16" in the margin) and reprinted in an 1819 edition (our copies, with "Tome 9"). Little is known about the author of these maps, apart from the name of their engraver (Porlier for our edition). However, we do...

Place: Lyon
Date: 1819
Item Number: 7762

52 x 63 cm. Rare color map of Cambodia, probably published in Phnom Penh in 1961 by the Geographical Service of the kingdom. This 1:1,000,000 scale map shows the different provinces of the country, eight years after its independence (1953). Published in French, the language of the former colonial power, the map provides information on the boundaries of the provinces, the location of provincial capitals...

Place: Phnon Penh
Date: 1962
Item Number: 8530

Unusual map of Catholic missions in Japan, a chromolithography published in Paris in the "Journal des missions catholiques". It includes three inset maps of the Kuril Islands, the Empire of Japan, and the Ryukyu Islands. A legend at the top details the division of this territory into dioceses and archdioceses, identifying the island of Formosa (Taiwan) as a vicariate. Adrien-Charles Launay (1853-1927)...

Place: Paris (106 x 75 cm)
Date: 1898
Item Number: 7101

L'empire de la Chine d'après l'Atlas Chinois, avec les isles du Japon. Par M. Bonne, hydrographe. 37 x 53 cm. Lindos colores originales, excelente estado. En la parte inferior del cartucho, parte del texto que hace referencia al rey francés fue borrado, probablemente durante la Revolución Francesa, c. 1794: "con privilegio del rey" se convirtió en "con privilegio". Mapa antiguo original de China y...

Place: Paris
Date: 1780
Item Number: 04537

舟山群岛原版古地图 This original antique sea chart details the northern section of the Chusan Archipelago (Zhoushan), located off the coast of Zhejiang Province in China. The chart was published by the French Naval Hydrographic Service (Dépôt des cartes et plans de la marine), based on the prior work of British Captain Richard Collinson, who conducted the most precise topographic and bathymetric surveys of...

Place: Paris
Date: 1865
Size: 41 x 68 cm
Item Number: 12179

This rare original antique view provides a rare perspective of the Singapore River looking upstream from South Boat Quay. Captured in August 1830 during Captain Laplace’s French scientific expedition, the image features the historic Jackson’s Bridge, the first wooden structure built in 1823 to connect North and South Bridge Roads and provide access to Chinatown. The drawing accurately depicts the...

Place: Paris
Date: 1835
Size: 31 x 43 cm
Item Number: 12041

This rare original antique view provides a rare perspective of the Singapore River looking upstream from South Boat Quay. Captured in August 1830 during Captain Laplace’s French scientific expedition, the image features the historic Jackson’s Bridge, the first wooden structure built in 1823 to connect North and South Bridge Roads and provide access to Chinatown. The drawing accurately depicts the...

Place: Paris
Date: 1835
Size: 31 x 43 cm
Item Number: 12042

(41x53 cm) Early and scarce map of China and Korea, first published in the important atlas Cartes générales de toutes les parties du monde in 1658, the first world atlas published in France. We're offering here the second edition of this map, published in 1679. It is based on cartographic observations made by Jesuit missionaries Matteo Ricci, Michele Ruggieri, and particularly Martino Martini, considered...

Place: Paris
Date: 1679
Item Number: 11823

A large wall map of Palestine as it appeared in 1948, produced by the Palestine Liberation Organization (P. L. O.) Research Center around 1966. The year 1948 is considered by the P.L.O. the start of the Nakba or 'Catastrophe. The map's compilation was overseen by Said Kamal Sabbagh, better known under the name of Said Sabbagh, an active Palestinian-Lebanese geographer, and represents the PLO's approved...

Place: Beirut
Date: 1966
Item Number: 10830

Beautiful map of China that represented a significant advancement in Western cartographic knowledge of the region. It was published in the Atlas Sinensis by Martino Martini, an Italian Jesuit missionary considered an authority on the cartographic recording of Chinese territory. This atlas, edited by Covens & Mortier in Amsterdam, is considered the first Western atlas of China and represents the pinnacle...

Place: Amsterdam (40.6 x 53.3 cm)
Date: 1695
Item Number: 5373

Beautiful engraving of a different Asiatic and West Indian vessels, by Romeyn de Hooghe, one of the greatest Dutch etchers of the late 17th century. The plate was later bought by Pieter van der Aa, who reprinted it in 1728 (our copy), adding French title and legends to the original Dutch one, to appeal to a broader audience. He translated "Speeljachten" to "Jachts de plaisir", or leisure yachts. It...

Date: 1887
Item Number: 6864

Very uncommon map of the Henan province, published in Shanghai in 1917. Its capital was then Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou is referred to as Chengchow Fu. This map was featured in John Edwin Dingles New Atlas of China, a rare publication from the Far Eastern Geographical Establishment, offering a remarkable testament to the Western presence in Shanghai after the First Opium War. Although bilingual (English-Mandarin),...

Place: Shanghai
Date: 1917
Item Number: 6917

Very uncommon map of the Shandong province, published in Shanghai in 1917. Jinan ), its capital, is referred as Tsinan. It shows with great details two foreign concession: Jiaozhou Bay ("Kiaochow Bay"), the former German concession (and hometown of the famed Tsingtao beer), described as a "Neutral Territory"; and British Weihaiwei, in and around today Weihai city. This was a leased territory of the...

Place: Shanghai
Date: 1917
Item Number: 6918

Beautiful colored British Admiralty nautical map of the approaches to the Yangtze River, including part of the city of Shanghai, China. It depicts Shanghai to the sea and the island and bank of Chongming North to the Shengsi and Saddle Islands South. The map captures Shanghai during and after the Second Sino-Japanese War 1937 -1945, during which the city was heavily destroyed. The chart has different...

Place: London
Date: 1947
Item Number: 7239

Very uncommon map of the Jiangsu province, published in Shanghai in 1917. Nanjing, its capital, is referred as Nankin. It shows with great details both the Tongji Canal, ("Old Course") and the Huai-Yang Canal followed by the Jiangnan Canal ("Grand Canal"). On the top left of the map appears the Jiaozhou Bay ("Kiaochow Bay"), the former German concession (and hometown of the famed Tsingtao beer). It...

Place: Shanghai
Date: 1917
Item Number: 6919

Rare admiralty chart of the South Sea East Coast of China, from Hong Kong to Jieyang and its port Shantu. It has many dates of publication and improvement: a copyright in Nov. 1890, new editions in 1909 and 1912, small corrections in 1920, etc; up to its last update in 1948, reflecting the important shipping activity in the region and therefor the need of constantly updated and improved charts. The...

Place: London
Date: 1947
Item Number: 7240

Escaso mapa de Estambul, dividido en la ciudad, Ejup, Hasloi, Tophana Pea, Galata y Scutari. Contiene una clave alfabética que hace referencia a trece puntos de interés. Fue publicado en Londres por John Luffman en 1802. Los mapas de Luffman son muy escasos en el mercado. Coloreado a mano. John Luffman (fl. 1776-1820) fue un geógrafo, grabador, escritor, historiador, editor y orfebre establecido en...

Place: Londres
Date: 1800
Size: 12.7 x 16.5 cm.
Item Number: 5504