Great Tartary. / Moll, Herman, d. 1732 / 1736

Great Tartary. Moll, Herman, d. 1732, 1736

Great Tartary. / Moll, Herman, d. 1732 / 1736

View larger, zoomable image (turn off pop-up blocker)

Full Title: Great Tartary. With the tract of the Moscovite Ambassador's travels from Moscow to Pekin in China. Above 4,600 Eng. mi. By H. Moll Geographer. 1732. (Printed and sold by T. Bowles next ye Chapter House in St. Pauls Church yard, & I. Bowles at ye Black Horse in Cornhill, 1736?)

Author: Moll, Herman, d. 1732

Date: 1736

Note: Hand col. engraved map. Relief shown pictorially. Includes geographical notes.

Published In: Atlas minor: or a new and curious set of sixty-two maps, in which are shewn all the empires, kingdoms, countries, states, in all the known parts of the earth; with their bounds, divisions, chief cities & towns, the whole composed & laid down agreable to modern history. By Herman Moll, Geographer. (3rd ed.) London, Printed for Thos. Bowles in St. Pauls Church Yard & John Bowles at the Black Horse in Cornhill (1736?)

Publication Reference: Phillips, 585; Tooley. Dictionary of mapmakers, p. 444; Tooley. Maps and map-makers, p. 55; Tyacke. London map-sellers, 1600-1720, pp. 122-123.

Publication Note: Contains 62 hand col. double-page engraved maps (10 folding). Contemporary ink inscription on front blank endpaper. Newer full polished calf with original gilt-lettered red leather label. A few minor repairs. The Atlas Minor was first published in 1729 and reprinted in 1732. This ed. has new engraved title-page with contents and revised maps. The maps in the third ed. are similar to those of the 2nd, except that a number of the American maps contain added place names. Like most of Moll's works, the majority of the maps are undated, although the maps of Great Tartary (no. 32) and "The West Part of Barbary" (no. 41) are dated 1732. The deciding factor which makes this copy the 3rd. ed. is map no. 13 (Germany) which carries the added legend, "Lorrain was ceded to France A.D. 1736 ..." Includes 29 maps of Europe, 10 of Asia, 5 of Africa and 18 of the Americas, including the double-hemisphere world map (no. 1) and the map of America (no. 45) that show California as an island. The Rumsey Collection copy includes 17 extra inserted, uncolored, undated maps (13 folding, 2 manuscript), 7 of which deal with the West Coast of Africa, and 2 of which are manuscript maps of the harbors at Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, the mouth of the Amazon River and Straits of Magellan, all with captions and place names in French; 3 others are of Upper and Lower Canada. The 17 maps appear to have been taken from several later 18th century sources, and were probably extracted from Kitchen's Pocket Atlas, Child's Universal Traveller, the English ed. of Du Halde's Description of China, and other works. A folded world map shows George Anson's track on his voyage of circumnavigation in 1740-1744, and is probably from one of the numerous eds. of his Voyage. Includes folded descriptions from John Howell Books and the Argonaut Book Shop.

Digital images and descriptive data © 2000 by Cartography Associates. Images may be reproduced or transmitted, but not for commercial use. For commercial use or commercial republication, contact This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. By downloading any images from this site, you agree to the terms of that license.

Firewalls, or Browser settings that block Pop-up Ads, may prevent correct operation of Insight Java Client or Insight Browser. Test by turning off the Firewall and/or allowing Pop-ups from this site only - if this corrects the problem, adjust your Firewall or Browser settings.

If you have comments, suggestions, or need help, contact The David Rumsey Collection at