[SIBERIA] - [Diary of the Expedition of Alexander Lavrentievich Chekanovsky undertaken in 1873-75 along the rivers Nizhnyaya Tunguska, Olenyok and Lena].: Дневник экспедиции Александра Лаврентиевича Чекановского по рекам Нижней Тунгуске, Оленеку и Лене в 1873-75 годах.

An important study of central Siberia, containing extensive geological research into the vast territory from Lake Baikal towards the Arctic ocean.

Alexander Chekanovsky (1832-76) was of Polish origin. A geologist, ethnographer and researcher, he took part in the 1863 Polish uprising and, as a result, was exiled to Siberia. He took this as an opportunity to continue his scientific work. With the help and influence of Friedrich Schmidt - who wrote the preface of this Diary - Chekanovsky was transferred to Irkutsk and appointed to the Siberian Division of the Geographical Society in 1867. While in Irkutsk, he made several scientific discoveries which brought him fame in Russia, until his early death aged 44.

Published some 20 years after his death, this Diary is actually composed of several diaries, describing expeditions and observations on the three main rivers of the Central Siberian Plateau, where Chekanovsky discovered a ridge, eventually named after him: the Chekanovsky Ridge, in the Lena delta in the Arctic ocean. This series of expeditions "can be justly considered a priceless contribution to the topography and mapping of Eastern Siberia" (Richard Maak, quoted in Muromov, 100 velikikh puteshestvennikov, Veche, Moskva, 2007). This diary is the num. 1 of vol. XX of a series of Notes of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society on general geography.

Rare: we are not aware of any copy on the Western market in recent years, and WorldCat doesn't show any copy. There is one however in the library of the St. Petersburg University, among others most probably in Russian academic institutions.

Provenance
V. I. Klochkov shop (St. Petersburg bookseller; illustrated label to lower wrapper; Library of Congress (binding, stamp "surplus duplicate" to upper pastedown); Avenir Nizoff (pianist and book collector, who lived in Edmonton, Canada).

Description
Octavo (24.5 x 16.3 cm). Portrait frontispiece after a photograph, half-title, general title, table of contents of vol. XX, title of the main work (part 1 of vol. XX), table of contents (part 1), 298 pp. with text illustrations, and a folding map at end. Publisher's printed wrappers bound in later burgundy cloth; upper wrapper narrower and loosely inserted.