The first Western atlas of China

A very fine example of Blaeu's influential Atlas of China, the first Western atlas devoted to that country, with maps compiled by Father Martino Martini (1614-61), a Jesuit missionary. In the preface Martini claimed to have visited seven of the fifteen Chinese provinces, although he does not say which ones. His maps (a general map of China and Japan, 15 provinces and a more detailed map of Japan) were far in advance of any available in the West, and this atlas remained the standard geographical work on China until 1737, when D'Anville published his 'Atlas de la Chine'.