A colourful late-Edo edition of this historical atlas by the founder of modern Japanese cartography. The detailed maps trace China's geopolitical and territorial evolution from the time of the legendary emperor Yu the Great through to the Qing dynasty. A final map shows East Asia, the Pacific, and the western fringes of North America. The maps were prepared by Nagakubo Sekisui (1717-1801), who pioneered the accurate representation of the world on paper. In 1774, he published one of the first Japanese maps to include latitude and longitude. These scientific elements are also found on several of the maps in this publication, along with roads, rivers, mountains, and other cartographical features. During periods of relative unity, such as the early Han dynasty or the Qing, the area of China is uncoloured, offering a marked contrast to times of intra-continental conflict and federation. Nagakubo's productions were for the discerning, intellectual customer, standing out from other printed works of pictorial geography. This is the third edition overall and is printed from the same blocks as the first (1789) and second (1829). For all three editions, well-preserved examples with the colour still vibrant are not common. Kornicki 14.d.15. Slim quarto concertina (346 x 200 mm). Mid-20th-century brown paper over card boards, original woodblock title label laid down on front board. Housed in custom blue cloth folding case with toggles and title label lettered in pencil. With 13 double-panel colour woodblock maps. Small mid-20th-century manuscript note tipped onto 9th map. Losses to original title label, colour a touch rubbed in places, a little worming just slightly affecting text and neatly repaired with tissue on verso: a very good copy.
