[RUSSIA] SCHMIDT Jakob Friedrich Schmidt (1732-1786); TRUSKOT (or TRUSCOTT) Ivan (1721-1786). Collection of 25 maps illustrating the Russian Empire. St. Petersburg: Academy of Sciences, 1770-1777. Scarce collection (only one record at auction, RBH) of 25 maps (usually referred to as 23) made by Johann Treskot and Johann Schmidt to map the Russian Empire from the western regions of present-day Lithuania and Poland to Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. The work produced by the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences follows the first major survey of the country carried out by Joseph Nicolas De L'Isle and published in 1745 as the 'Atlas Russicus,' deepening and refining it particularly with regard to the areas of Siberia and the Far East which had only begun to be extensively explored in the second half of the 18th century. Schmidt's work then focused on perfecting the mapping of the Baltic regions while Treskot the Siberia to include a detailed map of the Bering Strait area and Alaska. An almost unique collection of georgraphic maps and an important testimony of the Russian Empire at the height of its exploration during the reign of Catherine the Great. For a complete list of maps and related information, please contact the department. 25 engraved maps with contemporary watercolouring (general measurements 550 x 770mm approx.; one map 540 x 1370mm). in loose sheets, good overall condition. For a complete list of maps and related information, please contact the department.(1)