Russia & Former Soviet Union
One of the Earliest Maps to Name Armenia
Armenia/ The Caucasus/ Georgia/ Persia.
GERMANUS, DONNUS NICHOLAUS.
[Ulm, 1486]
Rare and striking example, in vibrant original color, of one of the earliest printed maps to name Armenia and to focus on the Caucasus and Georgia regions. The map was prepared by Dominus Nicolaus Germanus, a Benedictine monk from Saxony. He was also the author of several manuscript copies of... More
Rare First Issue of the Best Ptolemaic Map of the East Caspian Region
Kazachstan/ Uzbekistan/ Turkmenistan.
MERCATOR, G./ PTOLEMY, C.
[Brussels, 1578]
A beautiful example of a map of the region east of the Caspian Sea in the rare first issue of Mercator’s definitive edition of Ptolemy’s geography. A Silk Road caravan illustrates the southeast portion of the map, while sheep and cattle herders are depicted in the northeast section of it..... More
Rare First Issue of the Best Ptolemaic Map of the Area
Crimea/ Sea of Azov/ Russia.
MERCATOR, G./ PTOLEMY, C.
[Brussels, 1578]
The rare first issue of this very attractive map of southern Russia from Mercator’s definitive edition of Ptolemy’s geography. Meeting in this map are two of the most important figures in the history of geography. Geographic data and mapmaking instructions left by the Alexandrian, Claudius Ptolemy (fl. A.D. 127-180), became..... More
The Best Early English Map of Russia
One of the first English maps of Russia, and the most decorative. The map is scarce, having appeared only in the second edition of the Speed atlas. At upper left is a large plan of Moscow with a key to important locations. There are five views: the Emperor's Court, the... More
Scarce, Early English Map of Russia
Russia.
BLOME, R./ SANSON, M.
[London, 1682]
An attractive example of one of the earliest maps of Russia to be both engraved and published in England. Its geography, like that of most of Blome’s maps, was based on the work of the French cartographer, Nicolas Sanson. The dedication to Thomas Crew, the Second Baron Crew of Northamptonshire..... More
Fascinating Globe Gore of Russia and the Middle East
Russia/ Middle East.
CORONELLI, V.
[Venice, 1692]
A beautifully engraved, fascinating and scarce globe gore by Coronelli, generally recognized as the greatest early globemaker. The gore displays Russia, the Caucasus, and the Fertile Crescent, including modern day Iraq and part of Iran. Coronelli did not publish this gore to be assembled into a globe by the buyer... More
The Earliest Printed Plan of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg/ Russia.
DE FER, Nicholas.
[Paris, 1717]
This rare and finely engraved work, the first of St. Petersburg in printed form, was likely based directly on a drawing furnished directly to De Fer by Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blonde, the Frenchman who supervised the building of the city from 1716 to 1719. Published while construction of the city... More
A Richly Detailed Map of the Heart of Russia
Russia/Ukraine.
SEUTTER, M.
[Augsburg, c. 1730]
An attractively engraved and richly detailed map of the southern part of Imperial Muscovy. The map details the subordinate duchies of the empire, including the Ukraine, the Don Cossacks and the Muscovite Tatars. “Polish Russia,” Lithuania, and the Duchy of Novgorod also appear. More
Scarce Map of the Islands of the North Pacific
Alaska/ Northeast Russia.
GERARDIN (Draftsman)/ CROISEY, J. B.
[Amsterdam, 1777]
A scarce, attractively engraved map focusing on northeastern Russia and including part of Alaska. It appeared in M. Marbault’s Essai sur le commerce de Russie…, which is an account of Russian trade as well as a history of Russian explorations in the areas depicted on the map. Some of the..... More
Russia &Turkey Battle in the Southern Ukraine & Crimea
Ukraine/ Crimea.
SCHENK, P./ DE LETH, H.
[Amsterdam, c. 1785]
A rare battle plan, based on a Russian map, outlining troop positions and movements in the southern Ukraine and the Crimea during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735 to 1739. It was fought in large part to enable Russia to have access to the Black Sea by controlling the Sea of... More
Remarkable Archive Relating to an Acclaimed Female Illusionist
Of the Early 20th Century, Known as Ionia The Enchantress
Includes Manuscript, Water-Colored Russian Estate Plans
An archive that sheds light on the life of an extraordinary woman, known on the stage as Ionia the Enchantress, and on the tangled process of disposing of property in Russia in the fraught years of the Russian Revolution. Many of the documents relate to the sale of estates in..... More
Rare First Issue of the Best Ptolemaic Map of the Area
Russia/ Turkey/ Armenia/ Azerbaijan/ Georgia.
MERCATOR, G./ PTOLEMY, C.
[Brussels, 1578]
The rare first issue from Mercator’s definitive edition of Ptolemy’s geography of this map of the area between and to the south of the Black and Caspian seas. It boasts one of Mercator’s most elaborate and imaginative cartouches. Meeting in this map are two of the most important figures in..... More
A Rare Chart Revealing a Key Discovery in the
Search for the Northeast Passage
Executed by One of its Discoverers
Russia/ Scandinavia/ Arctic/ Northeast Passage..
LINSCHOTEN, Jan Huygen van.
[Amsterdam, 1601]
First state of this rare, important and boldly decorative chart that embodies one of the first major successes in the Dutch effort to discover a Northeast Passage. It accurately reveals, for the first time, a key passage along the northern Russian coast. The chart was drawn by Jan Huygen van... More
A Rare, Handsome Map of Russia
An apparently very rare map that hasn’t been seen in catalogues in at least 20 years. As indicated in a notation following the title, it was based on Russian sources: “Reduced chiefly, from the great Map of Russia, in 107 Sheets.” It is thus a very accomplished, precisely detailed work..... More