"L'Asie", Aa, Pieter van der

This rare small map is from a revised copper plate originally engraved by Pieter van den Keere and published in the 1628 edition of the Mercator Atlas Minor published by Jansson. It is based primarily on Hondius' important map of the continent and the East Indies. Korea appears as an island, an exaggerated Gulf of Cambay distorts the Indian subcontinent and the southern coastline of Java is blank. Van den Keere changed the shape of Japan and America Pars and added a mysterious I. De Paxoros off the American coast.

This is an extremely rare variant of a map first published in Jansson's new Atlas Minor in 1628. This map appeared in Van der Aa's Nouveau Petit Atlas, which was published circa 1714. The atlas was composed of nine parts, with the general portion falling under Nouveau Petit Atlas and then 8 individual regional parts under the title Atlas Soulage. Van der Aa revised the plate by updating the title cartouche (in French with a new border) and making other small changes. The atlas was only issued once and there is only one known complete copy extant, in the University Library of Leiden.

References: Van der Krogt (Vol. III) #8000:352.2.

Condition: A

A dark impression on a sheet with minor toning and a bit of marginal soiling.