SCHNELL (Edward). &
TAKEDA (Kango).
Bankoku kokai-zu - A Map of the World in Japanese.
This map is based on an English world map in the Mercator projection originally drawn by John Purdy in 1824 and first published in Japanese under a different title (Yochi Kokaizu) in 1858 (Ansei 5). It charts the routes taken by famous explorers in the 18th and 19th century, including Cook, Vancouver, Ross & Parry, La Perouse and others. In the top right corner it also includes a table of distances from London to important trading ports around the world, including Peking, Korea, Canton, Manilla, Bengal, Boston etc. but curiously enough Japan is missing from the list.
The Purdy map was apparently found on board the Russian ship Diana under the command of Putyatin which was severely damaged in a tsunami near Shimoda on December 23, 1854 while Putyatin was negotiating a peace treaty with the Japanese. Somehow it made its way to Takeda Kango (dates unknown), a medical doctor from Numazu with rudimentary knowledge of English who translated it and contributed an introduction.
The present second edition was revised and published by the German/Dutch arms dealer Edward Schnell (1830-1911) whose name features prominently in the cartouche on the right. He was a ‘colourful’ character who arrived in Yokohama around 1860 and became military advisor to the Aizu domain. It is unclear if Takeda Kango was consulted for this re-issue by Schnell. Kerlen 1867.
