L'Empire du Japon, tiré des cartes des Japonnois

Chatelain's map of Japan after Adrien Reland. 

This elegant map of Japan is a re-edition by Chatelain of Reland's 1715 map. It is the first map printed in Japan to use Sino-Japanese characters. In order to produce his map, Reland distinguished himself from his contemporaries and predecessors by not using European geographical sources but Japanese maps. For example, he used a map from the library of Benjamin Dutry, former director of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The geographical representation is significantly improved, for example in the treatment of the island of Kyushu. The map also includes an inset "View of the City of Nangasacki & the Island in which the Dutch are established" as well as an elegant title cartouche with a coat of arms.

This elegant map is a perfect example of the golden age of French cartography. It is taken from the renowned Atlas Historique of Henri Chatelain.

Chatelain's Atlas Historique

A complex and ambitious work, Henri Abraham Chatelain's Atlas Historique is one of the most comprehensive encyclopedias of its time. Originally published in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720 by L'Honoré and Châtelain, the Atlas Historique was corrected, enlarged and republished until 1739, the date of the fourth and final edition. Designed for the general public, fascinated at the beginning of the 18th century by the newly conquered colonies, the new discoveries, the distant countries (such as the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, Mongolia, China, Japan, Indonesia...), it is illustrated with a large number of maps, many of which are based on those of French cartographer Guillaume Delisle.