Our Notes & References
First edition of this celebrated travel account, richly illustrated, which prompted Catherine the Great to publish an “Antidote”. One of the most important early mapping and ethnographies of Siberia, and a significant work on Alaska.
A lovely example, fresh, in an attractive, uniform contemporary binding.
The French priest and astronomer, abbé Jean-Baptiste Chappe d’Auteroche, travelled to Siberia in 1761 to observe the transit of Venus.. ‘From Paris he reached St Petersburg, then sledged to Tobolsk, where in June 1761 the transit was duly observed. The expedition carried out a large number of scientific measurements en route, and reported on the geography of the region and the customs of its inhabitants’ (Howgego). Chappe’s account of this journey, which occupies both parts of the first volume, describes the meteorology, climate, fauna and minerals of the region, and also gives a sociological commentary. Though the publication received a warm welcome in France, it is said to have angered the Empress Catherine the Great for its unflattering description of Russian mores: she promoted the publication of a refuting work shortly afterwards, titled “Antidote”.
The entire second volume contains Chappe d’Auteroche’s own, new translation of Krashenninikov’s Opisanie zemli Kamchatki [Description of the Kamchatka land], originally published in Russian in St. Petersburg in 1755. Previously translated into English only in an abridged form, this is the first full, complete translation into a Western language. It contains detailed vocabularies from Kamchatka and the Kuril islands, as well as “considerable material on Alaska and the northwest coast of America” (Hill collection).
“This work deserves attention for its attractive and accurate engravings, and for its forthright and sometimes provocative descriptions of Russian manners and character. [It] includes meteorological observations, descriptions of the climate, animals, birds, and insects, note on the iron ore, copper, and gold mines, etc.” (Hill).
Provenance
Edward Winnington, 1777 (probably Sir Edward Winnington, 1st Baronet, ca. 1728-1791, of Stanford Court, Worcestershire; engraved bookplate to upper pastedown); from the estate of Geoffrey Elliott (1939-2021), banker of Russian descent, author of books on 20th-c. history. Acquired from Maggs Bros. in 2004. Geoffrey and his wife Fay were noted collectors, especially of Oscar Wilde, Evelyn Waugh and other literary figures. Russia (and Siberia in particular) was also an important theme: Geoffrey’s grandparents were interned in a Siberian tsarist prison camp before the October Revolution, and he focused most of his published works on the Cold War.
The Elliotts donated a significant part of their collection to the library of Leeds University in 2002, but kept the Russia-related items, which we consequently acquired.
Bibliography
Brunet I 1798; Conlon 68:685; Cohen 225 (wrong collation); Cox I 551-562; Hill 277; Howgego C101.
Physical Description
Two parts of text in three volumes 4to and one vol. atlas (35 x 26 cm). Vol 1, part 1: engraved frontispiece by Tilliard after le Prince, title, xxx pp. inc. preface and toc, [2] pp. extrait des registres Privilege du Roi, 347 pp., with 29 engraved plates, including 4 double-page and 1 table; Vol 2, part 2: title, 347-767 pp. [last page misnumbered], with 8 plates [plates 33-34 bound not in numerical order]; Vol.3: xvi including title, 627, [2] errata, [2] pp. list of ill., with 20 engr. plates inc. 3 maps [other 3 maps intended for this vol. bound in Atlas, plate 13 wrongly numbered 14], all engraved by le Bas, Tilliard, St. Aubin, Baquoy, and others after le Prince, de Fecamp, and Moreau. Atlas: engraved frontispiece by Tilliard after le Prince and 30 engraved maps, plans and profiles — in all complete with 56 engraved plates and 33 engraved maps and plans.
Binding
Contemporary tree calf with gilt frames to covers, spines with raised bands gilt in compartments, red and tan leather labels lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins, yellow edges, vols. 1 and 3 with silk ribbon.
Condition
Binding occasionally lightly rubbed or scratched; vols. 1-3 bound without half-titles, a couple of instances showing restorations, light staining or fraying, but overall a fresh, crisp copy.
