THE EAST INDIES, c1670.

By John Sellers.

This reproduction is taken from an original document, held within the Archives of the UK Hydrographic Office, Taunton, Somerset.

John Seller's Atlas Maritimus or Maritime Atlas of 1670 was one of the first English sea atlases. The atlas so impressed King Charles II that he granted Sellers a virtual monopoly for thirty years and forbade the import or copying of Dutch charts which for many years had been used by English navigators. In the main the charts which appeared in the atlas were copied from Dutch sources and the titles were re-engraved in English. The work had a long life and many new editions were published as the work was revised and updated. The work of Sellers eventually passed to John Thornton and finally to the company of Mount and Page who continued to publish until the early nineteenth century.

The East Indies chart is oriented with north to the left. An ornate cartouche fills China's mainland and the scale of sea miles is decorated with representations of Chinese mandarins and a land yacht.