This is the exceedingly rare true first edition of Krusentstern’s celebrated atlas of the South Pacific published in Russian. It was re-issued in French the same year with all of the plates re-engraved with French lettering. The French edition is rare enough, but the Russian is legendary. The NUC cites no examples, indeed research has only identified one example, at the Royal Geographical Society, London. The full list of contents is as follows with the accompanying Tooley reference which only refers to the French state; 1. General Map of the South Pacific (Tooley 821); 2. New Guinea and Torres Strait (T. 821); 3. The Coral Sea (T. 823); 4. Coast of New South Wales (T.825); 5. Tasmania (T. 829); 6. Admiralty Islands and New Ireland; 7. New Britain and Santa Cruz; 8. Louisade Archipelago and the Washington Islands; 9. Solomon Islands; 10. New hebrides; 11. New Caledonia; 12. New Zealand (T. 827); 13. Friendly and Society Islands; 14. Fiji and Samoa; 15. Tuamotu. The two maps lacking are nos. 7 and 12. The important Australian section is still complete. The first map is believed to be the earliest use of Australia on a map.

Krusenstern secured Imperial support for an exploratory expedition around Cape Horn to open direct commercial links with Asia and the Pacific region. This resulted in the first Russian circumnavigation leaving in 1803. ‘Krusenstern is the Hydrographer of the Pacific. This is a proud position, and is worthily occupied … it is difficult to speak in sufficiently high terms of this noble work.’ [Findlay, ‘Directory for the Navigation of the South pacific Ocean’]. Refer to Ferguson 1130a; Lada-Mocarski no. 91. Both citing later French editions.