Peter Bichsel   Fine Books

Strahlenberg, Philipp Johann von. Das Nord- und Ostliche Theil von Europa und Asia, in so weit solches das gantze Russische Reich mit Siberien und der grossen Tataerey in sich begreiffet […].

With folding polyglott letterpress table, folding woodcut cave chart, 10 engr. plates at the end, and several woodcut text illus. (some full-page). (13) leaves, 438 pp., (16) pp. index and errata. 4to. Contemp. half vellum with ms. spine title. – Stockholm, in Verlegung des Autoris, 1730.

First edition. Important early account of Russia, written by the Stralsund born Swedish officer Ph. J. von Strahlenberg (born Tabbert, 1676–1747). During the Great Nordic War he had been captured by the Russians at the battle of Poltava in 1709 and thereafter he spent some time as a prisoner-of-war in Siberia. Tabbert adopted the name von Strahlenberg in 1707 when he was ennobled for military merits. It was Strahlenberg who definitely achieved to define the geographical borderline between Europe and Asia. His definition was officially accepted by the Tsar in 1730 and was furthermore compulsory in the geographical science. Strahlenberg’s account contains details respecting Russian history, geography, genealogy, archaeology, philology, military history, ethnology, etc., and a description of Atlasov's travel to the Anadyr. The linguistic table depicts a synopsis of thirty-two Tartar dialects; a Kalmuk vocabulary is inserted from pp. 137 to 156. Strahlenberg’s account was later issued in English, French, and Spanish. His map of northern Asia was separately issued from the present work. – Provenance: From the library of Prince Nikolai Victorovich Gagarin (1873–1925) with his armorial exlibris on first paste-down. – Some minor browning in relation of the age, else a clean and complete copy with a noble provenance. – Best.-Nr. 13254