1770 – J. F. Schmidt – Revaliensis Sive Estlandia
2,800 €
Title: “Provincia Revaliensis sive Estlandia quatuor Dioecesibus contenta cum Finitimis Insulis Dago Worms etc. Auctore I. F. Schmidio Acad. Petropol. Adjuncto. Impressa Petropoli 1770.”
(The Province of Reval, or Estonia, divided into four districts, with the neighbouring islands of Dago, Worms etc. By J. F. Schmidt, adjunct of the St Petersburg Academy. Printed in St Petersburg, 1770.)
Description:
An extremely rare and impressive large-scale map of Estonia, compiled by Jakob Friedrich Schmidt for the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg. It was engraved by N. Zubkov and printed in St Petersburg in 1770. At a scale of about 1:356,000, it was one of the most detailed maps of Estonia of its time.
It shows the Governorate of Reval, as Estonia was then called under Russian rule, divided into its four districts: Harrien, Wierland, Jerwen and Wiek. Each district is outlined in colour, and Jerwen and Wiek are washed in buff. The map reaches from the islands of Dago (Hiiumaa), Worms (Vormsi) and Moon (Muhu), with part of Ösel (Saaremaa), in the west to Narva, Ivangorod and the border of the Novgorod Governorate in the east. To the south lie Lake Peipus and part of the Riga Governorate.
The map is crowded with detail:
- Places: Reval (Tallinn), Baltischport (Paldiski), Hapsal (Haapsalu), Weissenstein (Paide), Wesenberg (Rakvere) and Narva, together with hundreds of manors, villages and parish churches.
- The land: forests, bogs, lakes and rivers.
- The coast: every inlet, cape and small island along the Gulf of Finland.
A Rococo title cartouche sits in the upper left, and a matching cartouche in the lower right holds scales in Russian versts and German miles.
The Academy’s provincial maps were produced mainly for official use, so few copies reached the open market. The map became a key source for later maps of the Baltic provinces. August Wilhelm Hupel’s map of Livonia and Estonia, for example, states that it follows the newest St Petersburg maps of 1770 and 1772. Copies are held by the National Archives of Estonia.
Cartographer: Jakob Friedrich Schmidt (1732-1786)
Engraver: N. Zubkov
Publisher: Imperial Academy of Sciences, St Petersburg
Sheet size: 137,8 x 53,5 cm
Year: 1770
Technique: copper engraving
Condition:
Good, original condition, with no restorations. Watermarked paper. Contemporary outline and wash colour. Light toning and staining, mainly in the sea in the upper left. Folds as issued.
This is an original antique map published in 1770 and not a modern copy or reprint.
On your request I will provide a Certificate of Authenticity
In stock
