A New Map of Asia from the Latest Observations. Original antique map with contemporary hand colouring. Dedicated to the Right Hon. George Earl of Warrington. Published in 1721 by John Senex in his “A New General Atlas of the World”

Original antique map with contemporary hand colouring. Dedicated to the Right Hon. George Earl of Warrington.

Published in 1721 by John Senex in his “A New General Atlas of the World”. The map is based on the work of Guillaume De L’Isle and this atlas was the only early 18th-century English attempt at emulating the success of the French and Dutch mapmakers’ folio atlases. It emulates the success of the French and Dutch mapmakers of the period who were producing works of this size. Most other British mapmakers concentrated on very large or very small format atlases, separate issues or chart books: whereas Senex produced his maps in folio format.

John Senex was one of England’s best known map makers at the beginning of the 18th Century, who was appointed Geographer to Queen Anne. This map of Asia, combining the latest information available to Senex with the many misconceptions of the continent prevalent in Europe at the time. Many rivers, towns, lake, roads, and other information is presented from the Urals to the East Indies. The map tracks the currents in the Indian Ocean by month and also notes the currents along the east coast of SE Asia and the Philippines. An inset of “ye supposed N. Coast of Asia” is given in the lower left “to avoid too great a contraction of the scale.” The map is most confused in the seas to the north of Japan. The “Land of Iess” and “Company’s Land” are shown as indistinct and large land masses, and north of them is an open “Eastern Ocean.” Senex includes a cartouche, which shows two figures in Asian dress, along with flora and fauna of the continent

The map is of interest for the use of the name “Sea of Korea” for the sea between Korea and Japan.