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Description

Fne example of the first edition of Giacomo Rossi's map of Asia, published in Rome.

The map provides an excellent depiction of the Philippines and China (revised to based upon Martini).

To the north of Japan, the lands and coastal features are still largely unknown and would not be extensively explored until the Russians did so in the first part of the 18th Century.

The map provides a fine detailed treatment of Asia, based upon the work of Nicolas Sanson. The map is engraved by master engraver Giorgio Widman.

Giacomo Giovanni Rossi Biography

Giacomo Giovanni Rossi (1627-1691) was an Italian engraver and printer. He worked in Rome, the heir to an important printing business founded by his father, Giuseppe de Rossi (1570-1639). Giuseppe began the press in 1633 and Giovanni and his brother, Giandomenico (1619-1653) took it over upon his death. The brothers expanded the business and by the mid-seventeenth century it was the best-known printing house in Rome.

For his maps, Giovanni worked with Giacomo Cantelli da Vignola. They produced the Atlas Mercurio Geografico. The first edition is undated, but the second was issued in 1692, a year after Giovanni’s death. The maps were by Cantelli. The firm also published maps based on those of Nicolas Sanson.

Later, the business passed to Lorenzo Filippo (1682-?). By 1738, the firm was known as Calcografia Camerale, then, from 1870 to 1945, as the Regia Calcografica. Today, the firm is still in business and is called Calcografia Nazionale. It operates as a free museum and offers one of the best collections of prints and plates in the world.