PBA Galleries

[8], 280, [8]pp. Illustrated with 4 (of 5) plates and 1 (of 2) maps. (4to), 26.8x21.8 cm. (10½x8½") ¾ brown calf with marbled boards, spine titled in gilt

The first English and second chronological edition, with an abridged translation by James Grieve from the original Russian, of the work first published in St. Petersburg in 1755. "Contains one of the earliest descriptions of Russian America and the Kurile Islands" - Howes. The second part of Krasheninnikov's narrative is devoted to the botanical and natural history aspects of the region, including many valuable observations, comprising what is generally considered to be the pioneering natural history work concerning Alaska and Kamchatka. The attractive plates are some of the earliest depictions of the natives and their habitat. This copy has the Kamtschatka map but is lacking the map of the Kurilski Islands.