A superb detailed two-sheet map of Russia recording an important period in the history of Georgia. During the second half of the eighteenth century the country of Georgia turned towards Russia for protection from the Ottoman Empire to the south. Although keen to support Catherine the Great sent little in the way of forces. Threats also came from Persia who in 1795 entered the country and burnt the capital Tiblisi to the ground. Following the death of Erekle II in 1798 a struggle for the succession broke out and calls began for the Russians to intervene. On 8 January 1801 Tsar Paul I of Russia signed a decree incorporating Georgia in to the Russian Empire. This was thrown a little into disarray as the Tsar lost support and was assassinated in March of 1801. The Treaty however as ratified by his successor Alexander I on 12 September 1801. This is important as there are two known states of the map. The first as here bears the name of Paul I only in the second line of ‘Observations’ lower left. The second state bears that of Alexander I also and the imprint below the title of Jean Claude Dezauche. The address given for his business is 40 Rue des Noyers to which Tooley ascribes the dates 1816-24. One further notable difference between the two is the presence here of a ‘Remarque’ with 9 lines of text across the lower right corner which are missing in the other state as is the quarter circle border around the scale of miles above. Without being able to examine the other state closely we have to assume that this offered here is the first state dating from early 1801.

The map is engraved by Pierre François Tardieu (1752-1798) with the script being the work of L. Aubert who worked from about 1797. The map extends all the way east to the Pacific Ocean and beyond into the claimed territories in North America. The border of the Russian Empire extends out into the Ocean encompassing the Aleutian Islands. The Russian cartography is largely drawn from the earlier French work of De L’Isle with that of the Pacific being drawn from the work of Jean Francois de La Perouse. The Hawaiian Islands are placed in the extreme edge of the map.