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A series of four maps of the Indian Ocean—one for each quarter of the calendar year—showing the direction and intensity of the winds, including around the seas of Southeast Asia. There are extensive explanatory notes.

This map of Asia is from the mid-19th century ‘Grosser Atlas der Erde [Great Atlas of the Earth]’ by the German publisher Albrecht Platt. It shows part of Southeast Asia, including the region’s borders with India and China.

This title of this map refers to orography (which is shown in the use of hachures, short lines/dashes that give a sense of the shape and steepness of terrain) and hydrography (which is shown in the highlighting of coastal regions, shoals and reefs).

A late 18th century map of Asia with regions divided by colour-coded borders, and detailing rivers, mountains, reefs and shoals.

A late 18th century map of Asia with regions divided by colour-coded borders, and detailing rivers, mountains, reefs and shoals.

A late 18th century maritime map of Southeast Asia, marked with expedition routes including the return of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour from Australia in 1770, and Captain Philip Carteret’s circumnavigation expedition in 1768.

This mid-18th century map of Asia features a drawing of religious imagery: Asian people are seen making offerings to two figures, including the Greek god Poseidon (or the Roman god Neptune), and kneeling as cherubs descend from the sky.

Map of the Indian Ocean dominated by a rhumbline network—a web of interconnected lines used to help plot routes—with a compass rose at the centre. At the top there are (incomplete) drawings of people with text in Dutch, French, English and Spanish.

The cartouche on this early 18th century navigation map features the title in Latin and Dutch, as well as a wealth of detailed drawings illustrating the region’s trade: Asian merchants, their goods and animals, and two female European customers.

Map of Asia from the second volume of ‘Navigantium atque itinerantium bibliotheca: or, A compleat collection of voyages and travels: consisting of above four hundred of the most authentick writers’ published by John Harris in 1705.

Hand-drawn portolan (nautical) chart, featuring a rhumbline network (the web of interconnected lines), bathymetry (sea depth), shoals and reefs, names of coastal settlements, and an elevation (side view) of a mountain at the north tip of Borneo.

Four long rivers flow south through mainland Southeast Asia on this map: the ‘Menan’, ‘Manthabam’ and ‘Cosmin’ originate at a mythical lake (‘Chiamai Lac’) in southern China, while the ‘Mecon’ (Mekong) flows from the hills of Cochinchina (Vietnam).