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  1540 (undated)         1 : 40000000 Description This is a 1578 strike of Sebastian Münster's 1540 map of Asia, the first printed map of that continent based on contemporary data, and the earliest obtainable map of the continent overall. The map depicts the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea and the Persian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. Although the interior detail is based heavily on Ptolemy, Münster also blends in information gleaned from recent discoveries made by Portuguese traders and adventurers, including Vasco da Gama (c. ...

  1841 (dated)         1 : 15000000 Description A beautiful example of the scarce 1840 first edition of James Wyld's First Opium War Era map of China, with Hong Kong identified here as 'Heong Kong'. The map covers all of China, extending from the Tibet border to western Japan and from Manchuria to Hainan. Korea, rendered in full, is wildly malformed. Taiwan, appearing near the cartouche, is misshaped and only the western coast features any detail. There are notes in industry, transportation networks, the great wall, population, trade resources, and more. The First Opium WarThe Fir...

  1890 (dated)     Description A striking c. 1890 chromolithograph view of the Holy Land / Israel / Palestine by G. W. Bacon. Coverage extends from Mt. Lebanon and Mt. Hermon to the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, and Gath - thus covering the northern half of modern-day Israel and southern Lebanon. The Jordan River valley is particularly striking, with bold exaggerated depictions of both the Sea of Galilee and the northern part of the Dead Sea. Jerusalem is prominent at bottom center. ChromolithographyChromolithography is a color lithographic technique developed in the mid-19th century. The pr...

  1900 (dated)         1 : 4500000 Description A most intriguing discovery capturing the pivotal historical moment when China embraced the railroad, in the processing sacrificing much of its sovereignty to vast network of railroad concessions and foreign interests. This is a 1900 ferro-gallic transfer of Emilii Vasil'evich Bretschneider's original manuscript map of China, accompanied by extensive manuscript annotation in the author's hand regarding the development of China's railroad system in the late 19th century. Railroads of ChinaThe railroads came late to China. Although today...

  1552 (undated)         1 : 50000000 Description This is an excellent 1552 Latin example of Sebastian Münster's map of America, the first printed map of the Western Hemisphere. The map first appeared in Münster's 1540 edition of Ptolemy's Geographia, one of the earliest versions of the classical work to systematically include maps showing contemporary geographical knowledge. Beginning in 1544, the map would be included in Münster's magnum opus, Cosmographia Universalis, which for over forty years was the primary source for anyone interested in world geography. Consequently, th...