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PETROVICH VON WRANGEL, Baron Ferdinand (1796-1870) & Karl Ernst VON BAER (1792-1876). Statistische und ethnographische Nachrichten über die Russischen Besitzungen an der Nordwestküste von Amerika. Gesammelt von dem ehemaligen Oberverwalter dieser Besitzungen, Contre-Admiral v. Wrangell ... und mit den Berechnungen aus Wrangell's Witterungsbeobachtungen und andern Zusätzen vermehrt von K. E. v. Baer. St Petersburg: Press of the Imperial Academy of Science, 1839. 8°. Series title and title, letterpress tables in the text and one folding letterpress table, folding engraved map, 7-page 'Ankündigung' for Baer's series of Beiträge bound in at the end (some spotting and browning, light marginal dampstaining to titles and first gathering, titles re-inforced at gutter, map guarded in). Modern half morocco over marbled boards by Harry Larsen, spine lettered in black. Provenance: occasional notes and underlinings in pencil.
FIRST EDITION. 'ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL WORKS ON ALASKA AS THE RUSSIANS KNEW IT DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY' (Lada-Mocarski). Wrangel held the position of Chief Administrator of Russian Colonies in America from 1830 to 1835, and his Statistische und ethnographische Nachrichten 'is an authoritative eye-witness account which gives much information not available to someone who merely participated in one of the expeditions to Alaska and spent perhaps a few weeks or months there' (loc. cit.). Wrangel's narrative is supplemented by Veniaminov's 1834 account of the Aleuts and linguistic articles by Baer, the editor of the series Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Russischen Reiches und der angränzenden Länder Asiens, of which this is the first volume; as Lada-Mocarski comments, 'Baer's preface contributes much to the value of this book, particularly his remarks on how far south the Eskimos had penetrated before the appearance of the Russians. The vocabularies of various native tribes are carefully prepared and are valuable'. Howes W-689; Lada-Mocarski 106; Sabin 105519 (note).
FIRST EDITION. 'ONE OF THE FUNDAMENTAL WORKS ON ALASKA AS THE RUSSIANS KNEW IT DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY' (Lada-Mocarski). Wrangel held the position of Chief Administrator of Russian Colonies in America from 1830 to 1835, and his Statistische und ethnographische Nachrichten 'is an authoritative eye-witness account which gives much information not available to someone who merely participated in one of the expeditions to Alaska and spent perhaps a few weeks or months there' (loc. cit.). Wrangel's narrative is supplemented by Veniaminov's 1834 account of the Aleuts and linguistic articles by Baer, the editor of the series Beiträge zur Kenntniss des Russischen Reiches und der angränzenden Länder Asiens, of which this is the first volume; as Lada-Mocarski comments, 'Baer's preface contributes much to the value of this book, particularly his remarks on how far south the Eskimos had penetrated before the appearance of the Russians. The vocabularies of various native tribes are carefully prepared and are valuable'. Howes W-689; Lada-Mocarski 106; Sabin 105519 (note).
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