Gibier

1881 · 149774 — St Petersburg: Cartographic Institute of the Military-Topographic Department of the General Staff 1881. The cartographic climax of the "great game" Second edition significantly improved from the first edition 1877 to incorporate the latest military intelligence from field surveys. This magisterial work of "great game" cartography was presented at Russia's Tashkent military headquarters to the daring French explorer Stanislas Benoist-Méchin during his epic 1881-3 overland journey from Beijing to Europe. We have traced no other copies. A presentation inscription on the verso of the map reads in French "To Mr Baron Benoist-Méchin from Generals Kouropatkine and Levaschew October 1882 Tashkent." Benoist-Méchin 1854-1923 began travelling the world as a young man and then served as the French cultural attaché in Tokyo 1880-1. In 1881 he decided to return to Europe via the daring route through Central Asia. Leaving Beijing on 15 September with his regular travelling companion Comte Humbert Adrien de Mailly-Chalon 1853-1921 he journeyed through Manchuria and across Russian Siberia. In 1882 having reached Kashgar they received permission to cross Russian Turkestan spending six weeks in Tashkent as the honoured guests of General Mikhail Tchernayev the architect of Russian's expansion across Central Asia General Aleksey Nikolayevich Kuropatkin 1848-1925 and the aforementioned General Levaschov likely the artillery officer Vladimir Levaschov 1834-1898. After reaching Samarkand they travelled in extreme cold through Bukhara and via Khiva to Tehran reaching Moscow in October 1883 where they were accorded a hero's welcome. Their descriptions of this feat of exploration were published in 1885 in the Bulletin de la Société de géographie. This map was made for the use of the Russian military high command in St Petersburg and in the Turkestan Military District which had been established in the 1860s amid the occupation of Tashkent and Bokhara and dates from a period following the Second Anglo-Afghan War and the Battle of Geok Tepe when tensions were at their height. It encompasses almost the entire playing surface of the "great game" extending east-west from Xinjiang and Tibet to the Caspian Sea and Afghanistan and north-south from Siberia to northern India. Unparalleled in terms of accuracy and detail it names every city town and village and the legend has entries for such features as fortifications railways mail and caravan roads and mines. Spot heights are given in feet and deserts are marked with a light red pattern. It is much improved on the first edition which had only 48 panels and did not extend as far south. Chromolithograph map 195 x 200 cm dissected onto 64 sections and mounted on linen as issued laid-down printed slip stating "corrected up to 1881" small folding tab at right edge. Folding away to 28.5 x 28 cm. Housed in green quarter morocco solander box with chemise by the Chelsea Bindery. Map surface generally clean and brighta few stains toning and soiling at edges small repair at top-left edge verso foxed and with couple of areas of linen reinforcement: very good. unknown