[SIBERIA-ALASKA] - Tableaux historiques, chronologiques, géographiques et statistiques de l'Empire de Russie, avec une carte généalogique.

An early, large format publication, produced in St. Petersburg and which intends, in a very didactic way, to familiarize European readers with the history, geography, population, structure and economy of the Russian empire possibly at the height of its power, during Pushkin's Golden Age.

After a brief history of the Russian Empire covering the period from 862 until the beginning of the reign of Nicolas I (1796 - 1855), the work shows a genealogical table of the ruling dynasties. In the present example, the letterpressed Romanov's dynasty tree, ending with the name Alexander II, is expanded with manuscript notes of a 19th century reader, who updated it with the names of the spouse of Alexander II and their children.

The large double-page tables and maps include a wealth of information on Russian geography, flora, fauna, trade, peoples etc.

Of special note are the insets on the Don Cossacks, Georgia, Caucasus and the American colonies. A large map shows the "progressive conquest of Siberia", up to the Alaska. Unusually the work includes a bibliography, mentioning a majority of books in Russian.

Scarce: We could trace 11 copies through WorldCat, only one of them in the USA (Ohio).

Description and Bibliographical reference
Folio (50.5 x 37 cm). Title, [3] pp. incl. preface, bibliography and subscribers' list, 16 double page text tables, incl. a hand-coloured geneological table and 3 hand-coloured engraved maps. Contemporary half straight-grained green morocco over marbled boards, straight-grained green morocco label to upper cover lettered in gilt. Brunet V, 1437.