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Title: Mesyatsoslov Istorichesko I Geograficheskoi Na 1784 Goda [Historic - Geographic Calender for 1784] Author: Place: St. Petersburg Publisher: Imperial Academy of Science Date: 1784 Description: xx,107 pp. In Russian. Folding engraved map as frontispiece. (12mo) 15.5x9 cm (6x3½"), original green paper boards. Very rare calendar/almanac which contains an account of Ivan Kobelev's voyage to the Chukchi country in 1779, sent to check on two foreign vessels seen there the previous summer, being the ships of James Cook Kobelev was later to join the Joseph Billings expedition. The map, with the Russian title roughly translated as "Map Pertaining to the Journey of Sotnik Kobelev," gives a fairly accurate rendering of the region where North America and Asia nearly meet. Warren Heckrotte's description follows: "The map covers the region from 60º to 71º north latitude and 185º to 220º east longitude. The coast of Alaska is taken from the map supplied to the Russians by the Cook expedition while in Kamtchatka but with significant additions by Kobelev. There are four references on the map to the Cook expedition. Also, Bering and Gwosdev are noted in the legends. On the Alaskan coast there are many villages along the coast. These were located on the map based on information provided by an Eskimo while Kobelev was on the little Diomede island. Dorothy Jean Ray's research has verified the location and names of a majority of these native villages - a remarkable example of native mapping. The Historic - Geographic Calendar was issued yearly. The Von Staehlin map first appeared in Russian in the issue for 1774. The Pallas map of the North Pacific appeared in its Russian version in the issue for 1781... Masterson and Brower, footnote 18, state that no copies of the Calendars for the 1770s and 1780s are in the US (as of 1948). Seller states that no copies located in OCLC." The map measures 19.8x26.2 cm (9¾x10¼"). As to the almanac itself, pages III to XIV comprise tables for each month of the rising and setting of the moon and planets. Pages XV to XX comprise a calendar of events (note that the world was formed 7293 years before 1784). Pages 1-107 contain four articles on geographic and historic events. Pages 1-8 of these relate the voyage of Sotnik Ivan Kobelev to the Chukchi country and the two islands in Bering Strait (the Diomedes). [Sotnik means Chief of a hundred]. Bookplate of Richard and Natalie Wraga. Further Notes from the Files of Warren Heckrotte Provenance: Hordern House, LA Book Fair, 2/6/04 References: Masterson and Brower, pp 93-96. This is a translation of Kobelev's voyage that appeared in Neue Nordisch BeytrŠge, Vol 4 (1783). The map that appears in this volume is reproduced; it differs substantially from the Russian language map with much less detail. Russian Penetration of the North Pacific Ocean,Vol Two, pp 253-258, "Account based on the Journal of Ivan Kobelev"; in Russian Archives. The text in the Calender appears to track with this text. Postnikov, The Mapping of Russian America, pp 18-19. The original manuscript map, dated 1779, for Kobelev's voyage is reproduced. The printed map follows it closely except for how the legends are placed. Yefimov, map 174; the map is taken from a later publication, 1790. Alekseev, The Destiny of Russian America 1741-1867, Chapter 3, notes Kobelev's voyage and later activities; Kobelev was part of the Billings' Expedition. Dorothy Jean Ray The Eskimos of Bering Strait, 1650-1898, pp 45-47; and Ethnohistory in the Arctic The Bering Strait Eskimo, Chap. XIII. Burney, North Eastern Voyages, p 269-270 takes note of Kobelev's journey, based on Pallas' account. Lot Amendments Condition: Rubbing to boards, wear and chips to spine; map and contents in fine condition. Item number: 267475