1721 SENEX, J. - Fine map of Asia, with a decorative title cartouche flanked by two figures in Asian dress

Fine map of Asia, with a decorative title cartouche flanked by two figures in Asian dress, along with the continent's flora and fauna, based on Guillaume De L'Isle's work.

In the lower left corner, an inset of "to avoid too great a contraction of the scale ye supposed N. Coast of Asia is continued here" North of Japan the "Land of Jesso Discovered AD 1643" and "Company's Land" are shown as indistinct and large land masses, and north of them is an open "Eastern Ocean."

The map is of interest for the use of Sea of Korea for the sea between Korea and Japan.
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The map tracks the currents in the Indian Ocean by month and also notes along the east coast of SE Asia, the Philippines. Senex includes a charming cartouche showing two figures in Asian dress, along with the continent's flora and fauna. < br>< br> John Senex's A New General Atlas of the World was, strangely. The only early 18th-century English attempt at emulating the success of the French and Dutch mapmakers' folio atlases. Other London mapmakers concentrated on very large or very small format atlases, separate issues or chart books: whereas Senex produced his maps in folio format.

John Senex (1678-

John Senex was a prominent mapmaker, engraver, globemaker and publisher who practiced his trade in early eighteenth-century London. He began his career in 1695 as an apprentice to Robert Clavell of the Stationers’ Company, where he stayed until 1702. His early work primarily consisted of engraving plates for almanacs and scientific books, including Sir William Browne’s Account of Microscopes and Telescopes.
In 1706, he turned his talents to cartography and began engraving and selling maps, globes, and astronomical charts. In 1710, he obtained professional premises on Fleet Street in London, and Senex frequently engraved his maps with a description of his shop’s location. As such, many of the maps in this collection have a variation of the inscription, “Engraved by Iohn Senex and sold by him at the Globe against St. Dunstan's Church, Fleet Street, London”.
Between 1710 and his death in 1740, Senex rose to prominence with the publication of his updated version of Ogilby’s Britannia. Senex’s version was in miniature (‘improved, very much corrected, and made portable’) and included updated road maps of England and Wales. As appointed geographer to Queen Anne, Senex frequently published maps and astronomical charts with preeminent eighteenth-century scientists, including astronomer Sir Edmund Halley. Together they published several maps outlining the predicted path of Halley’s namesake comet, as well as star charts and astronomical globes. Their collaboration also included a contentious version of a star catalog that included astronomical data Halley obtained unethically from Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed. This led Flamsteed to purchase and subsequently destroy 300 of the 400 printed charts. Halley nominated Senex for fellowship to the Royal Society of London, which was granted in July of 1728. Senex was also highly respected for producing terrestrial and celestial globes, available in sizes ranging from three to twenty-eight inches.
Following Senex’s death, his wife Mary continued operating the publishing business on Fleet Street until her retirement in 1755. Mary published a broadsheet advertising the continued sale of Senex’s work after his death, which provides descriptions of available globes, and a list of the most popular maps along with prices.