Historic Map : Mitchell Antique Map of European Russia, 1849, Vintage Wall Art

This is a nice example of S. A. Mitchell's 1849 map of Russia. Mitchell's map covers European Russia from the Baltic to the Ural Mountains and from Lapland to the Crimea. An inset table in the lower right quadrant lists the regional governments of Russia. Political and topographical features are noted and color coded with elevation rendered by hachure.

When this map was issued, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas I who adopted the doctrine of 'Orthodoin xy, Autocracy, and Nationality' and was known to be one of the most reactionary monarchs in Russia. In 1825, Russian army officers, called the Decembrists, protested against Nicholas I's ascension to the throne. The Decembrists, so named because their revolt started in December, favored Nicholas I's brother, Constantine, who seemed amenable to a British style constitutional monarchy. When Constantine abdicated the throne in 1825, the Decembrists refused to accept the more autocratic rule of Nicholas I. Had Constantine not abdicated and the Decembrists been successful, the bloody Bolshevik Revolution may never have occurred.

The whole is engraved and colored in Mitchell's distinctive style with green border work and vivid pastels. Mitchell published this chart in his atlas from 1846 to the late 1850s before discontinuing the series and selling his map plates to DeSilver. This map was issued in the 1849 edition of the New Universal Atlas. It was the last edition of that atlas to be published by Mitchell prior to selling the plates and rights to the atlas to Thomas Cowperthwait in 1850.