Copper engraving handcolored with watercolor.

Outline color.

Part 1 of one map printed in two parts on two sheets. (Top half of map).

Relief shown pictorially.

Shows depths by sounding.

Contains two watermarks one of which is a crest.

Printed in upper left corner in cartouche: " Carte Marine De La Mer Caspiene levee Suivant les orders de S.M. Czariene, Par Mr. Carl Vanverden en 1719.1720.et 1721. Et Reduite Au Meridien De Paris Par Guillaume Delisle Premier Geographe. du Roy, de l'Academie Royale des Sciences. A Paris. Chez le Sr. Delisle, Quay de l'horloge. Avec Privilége du Roy."

Printed in upper right corner in cartouche: "Avertissement. Les Sondes marquees dans cette Carte, soit en brasses ou en pieds, sont suivant la mesure de Hollande. Les brasses sont de 5 pieds de Hollande qui sont plus courts de 5 lignes qu ceux de Paris. Ces Sondres sont marquees en brasses dans la Carte a la reserve d'un endroit vers les bouches du Volga ou ells sont marquees en pieds. Au contraire, dans les Plans particuliers qui sont aux dues cotés de la Carte les Sondes y sont marquées en pieds, a la reserve du Plan du Golfe de Baka ou elles sont marques en brasses. Les variations de l'Aiguille sont marquées conformémt. aux observation qui ont été faites aux années 1719.20.et 21."

Printed above inset map on left edge: Severnoié Oustié Rekie Kouré Embouchure Septentrionale De La Riviere de Koura don't les Sondes sont marquees en pieds."

Printed above inset map along middle of right edge: "Rade D'Abscahron don't les sondes sont marquées en pieds."

Printed above inset map in bottom right corner: "Zalif Bakinskaia Golfe de Baka don't les Sondes sont marquées en brasses."

Printed beneath 43 degrees latitude north in sea: "Variation de l'Aiguille 12 degrés 9 minutes au Nordouest."

Printed in the far northeastern edge of Caspian Sea: "Yembenskoi Gniloi Zalif Golfe Vaseux D'Yemba."

Printed within top border above title cartouche: "47eme degree a l'Est de Paris."

Written in ink in upper right corner: "No. 13."

Depicts the northern half of the Caspian Sea. Includes inset maps of the Kura River estuary, the "Rade D'Abscharon," and the Gulf of Bakinskaia. Shows compass rose in center with strong rhumb lines and detailed river and place names along western coast including the Volga River. Details in inset maps show soundings, islands and scales for Dutch miles. Surrounding the title cartouche is ornate decoration and two busts of heads on each side. Surrounding Avertissement cartouche is a large shell and two winged beasts with the heads of birds. Of note, remnants of previously removed engraved text are visible in lower left corner.

Carl Van Verden was a Russian sailor and manager of a survey of the Caspian Sea under the reign of Peter the Great (1689-1725). He completed the first accurate map of the Caspian Sea in two sheets, published in 1722 (Tooley, 638). Once the map was completed, Peter the Great sent the map to Paris where it was "well received" and copied by many cartographers (Bagrow, 175). Guillaume de L'Isle (1675-1726) was a cartographer and the Premier Geographer to the King in France beginning in 1718. His family played a significant part in the world of French cartography in the eighteenth century. At age 9, he drew his first map and at age 27 he became a member of the Académie Royale des Sciences. He studied under Jacques Cassini, acquiring knowledge in both mathematics and astronomy. Due to his academic background and his "critical approach to the maps of his predecessors," he became known as the first "scientific cartographer" (Moreland and Bannister, 132). Among his works are "Globe, map of the world and the four continents" (1700), "Atlas de Géographie" (1700-12), "Mississippi" (1701), "Carte du Mexique et de la Floride…" (c.a. 1703), "Carte de la Louisiane et du Mississippi" (1718) and posthumously, "Atlas Noveau" (1730 and later). Following his death, his widow took up the business with a partner, Philippe Buache (Tooley 395; Moreland and Bannister, 131-2). This particular map was based on the work of Carl Van Verden's first map and survey of the Caspian Sea from 1719 to 1721. The map was copied by many cartographers including Guillaume de L'Isle. This map contains a watermark indicating that the map may have been published in 1742. The map was most likely included in Guillaume de L'Isle's "Atlas de Geographie" as plate 13 (David Rumsey Cartography Associates). The Caspian Sea had not been accurately depicted until this point in the eighteenth century. During the third century B.C., a myth existed that the Caspian was actually a gulf. Ptolemy showed the Caspian as landlocked but a later account from the sixth century A.D. brought back the earlier notion of the Caspian as a gulf (Bricker and Tooley, 105). During the early eighteenth century, Peter the Great developed a strong interest in surveys of the Caspian Sea due to his desire to reroute the Amu Darya River so that it would run into the Caspian Sea and benefit the Russian with trade from the rest of Asia and India. A survey managed by Alexander Cherkassky and later Carl Van Verden showed this to be impossible. However, the survey did allow Van Verden to produce an accurate map of the Caspian Sea that was later to be copied by many prominent European cartographers (Howgego, 917). Source(s): Bagrow, Leo. "History of Cartography." Revised and enlarged by R.A. Skelton. Chicago: Precedent Publishing, Inc., 1963. David Rumsey Cartography Associates. "David Rumsey Collection: Carte marine de la Mer Caspiene. (Northern Sheet)." Accessed 29 Jan 2009. Moreland, Carl and David Bannister. "Antique Maps: A Collector's Handbook." New York: Longman Group, Ltd., 1983. Tooley, Ronald Vere. "Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers." Hertfordshire: Map Collector Publications Limited, 1979. Tooley, Ronald Vere and Charles Bricker. "Landmarks of Mapmaking: An Illustrated Survey of Maps and Mapmakers." Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1968.

• Subjects (LCSH): Caspian Sea-Maps-Early works to 1800; Caspian Sea Coast-Maps-Early works to 1800.