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An 18th Century English Wall Map of Asia Showing the Gulf of Corea and Pre-Cook Alaska.
This map, titled Asia according to the Sieur D'Anville, divided into its Empires, Kingdoms & States, presents a detailed view of Asia as understood in the 18th century.
Created after information from the esteemed French geographer Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville and printed for Robert Sayer in London in 1772, the map outlines the various empires, kingdoms, and states of the continent.
One notable feature is the depiction of pre-Cook Alaska in the upper right corner, reflecting the geographic knowledge of the area prior to Captain James Cook's third voyage (1776-1780). The map includes the Sea of Anadyr and the Sea of Kamtschatka, with the coastline and Aleutian Islands of Alaska shaped by earlier Russian explorations, notably those of Vitus Bering and Aleksei Chirikov during the Great Northern Expedition (1733-1743). The annotations marking various exploratory routes and discoveries illustrate the rudimentary and speculative understanding of the region's geography before Cook's detailed surveys provided more accurate mappings. Islands such as St. George, St. Lawrence, and Schumagin Island are identified, underscoring the piecemeal and evolving knowledge of this remote area.
Robert Sayer (ca. 1724-1794) was a prominent London map publisher. Robert’s father was a lawyer, but his older brother married Mary Overton, the widow of prominent mapmaker Philip Overton and the proprietor of his shop after his death. Mary continued the business for roughly a year after her marriage and then, in early 1748, it passed to Robert. Robert became a freeman of the Stationers’ Company later that year; his first advertisement as an independent publisher was released in December.
Sayer benefited from Overton’s considerable stock, which included the plates of John Senex. In the 1750s, Sayer specialized in design books and topographical prints, as well as comic mezzotints. In 1753, he, along with John Roque, published a new edition of Thomas Read’s Small British Atlas, the first of several county atlases that Sayer would publish.
Sayer’s business continued to grow. In 1760 he moved further down Fleet Street to larger premises at 53 Fleet Street. In 1766, he acquired Thomas Jefferys’ stock when the latter went bankrupt. In 1774, he entered into a partnership with John Bennett, his former apprentice. The pair specialized in American atlases, based on the work of Jefferys. They also began publishing navigational charts in the 1780s and quickly became the largest supplier of British charts in the trade.
Bennett’s mental health declined, and the partnership ended in 1784. As Sayer aged, he relied on his employees Robert Laurie and James Whittle, who eventually succeeded him. He spent more and more time at his house in Richmond. In 1794, he died in Bath.
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