[MAP] - Lot 102

[MAP] DE TCHIHATCHEFF, Pierre. Essai d'une carte générale de l'Altaï... (Paris), J. Rigo, 1845. 1000 x 855 mm. Fold-out canvas map in 16 sections, lithographed in color. Title label affixed to map: "De Tchihatcheff - Voyage Scientifique dans L'Altaï Oriental - Carte". Paper slightly yellowed. Essai d'une carte générale de l'Altaï et d'une partie des monts Sayanes avec l'indication approximative des principaux terrains qu'ils renferentent et de leurs caractères stratigraphiques ; par Pr de Tchihatcheff ; gravé par Schwaerzlé. The map accompanied the 1845 publication "Voyage scientifique dans l'Altaï oriental et les parties adjacentes des frontières de Chine... par Pierre de Tchihatcheff, rapport sur la partie géologique de cet ouvrage, par MM. A. Brongniart, Dufrenoy, Élie de Beaumont. In 1842, Tchihatcheff took part in an expedition to the Altai region to study its geography and geology. He discovered the sources of the Abakan, Chou and Choulychman rivers. He crossed the unexplored southern Altai and traversed the Saïan Mountains, observing the tribal customs of the region's nomads and sedentary peoples. The results of this journey were published in French in Paris in 1845 under the title Voyage scientifique dans l'Altaï oriental et les parties adjacentes de la frontière de Chine, under the name Pierre de Tchihatcheff. He discovered and reported on the results of his expeditions in the most important basin of the Donbass, the Kuznetsk basin. Thanks to his observations, geological maps and precise measurements of the area were produced. The Chikhatchov Mountains he visited were named in his honor. Piotr Alexandrovitch Tchikhatchov or Piotr Tchihatcheff, born August 28 (16) 1808 in Gatchina and died October 13 1890 in Florence, was a French-speaking Russian geographer, geologist and explorer. He left his name to the Chikhachov Mountains in the Altai. Provenance: Geological Society of France.