First European Atlas of China.

• Author: Woods, Martin

A very rare work, Atlas Sinensis (Atlas of China), was acquired by the Library in November 2006 at auction from Christie's, London. At a time when Chinese maps of the world are in the news, particularly those depicting the voyages of Admiral Zheng He, the Library has received what is thought to be the first 'Western' atlas of China-produced by missionaries in 1655.

Atlas Sinensis was published by Johannes Blaeu, one of the most famous publishers of maps, in Amsterdam. The pinnacle of seventeenth century Jesuit cartography of China, it was the work of Martino Martini (1614-1661). Martini was the Jesuit superior in Hangzhou, one of the key cities in the Yangzi Delta area, and today a major tourist destination.

Martini had entered China in 1643 and for three years travelled widely throughout the country, collecting materials for his surveys and determining the astronomical positions of...