Precious work by d’Anville in which he explains the method he employed
to prepare the maps of the Description of China by Du Halde.
Peking, Paris, 1776.
D’anville, Jên-Baptiste Bourguignon d’. Memoir of Mr. d’Anville, First Geographer of the King, of the Royal Academies of Humanities & Sciences. On China.
In Peking, and available in Paris at the Author’s, in the Louvre Galleries, rue de l’Ortie, 1776.
In-8 of 47 pp. Full speckled calf, golden roulette frame around the covers, smooth spine finely decorated, yellow edges. Binding of the period.
197 x 125 mm.
First edition of this work by the grêt French cartographer d’Anville, who was commissioned by the Jesuits to produce three maps based on the discoveries of Jesuit missionaries in China, to be included in the “Geographic Description… of the Empire of China and Chinese Tartary” by Pierre Du Halde (1735).
They were later revised for the “New Atlas of China” (1737).
In the “Memoir”, he explains in detail the method he used to prepare the maps, the sources he chose to consult, and provides an overview of previous expeditions conducted in China and Tibet.
Cordier, Sinica 187; Lust 154; Lowendahl 585.
The work, published in 1776, contains d’Anville’s explanation for his methodology in constructing maps of China specifically: in 1735, d’Anville had prepared numerous maps for Jên-Baptiste Du Halde’s Geographic Geographic de of the empire of China and Tartary, maps which were subsequently revised and published separately in d’Anville’s New atlAtlas of China of 1737. In particular, d’Anville sought to defend the Jesuit-sourced data which he based his maps on following strongly-worded criticism by an unnamed editor.
Precious copy preserved in its elegant period binding.
