This old, monochrome and wonderful map shows Russia as it was in 1676. It was created by John Speed and engraved by Jodocus Hondius, and originally published in Speed's "The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine".
In the top left corner is a highly detailed map of Moscow - a very rare view from the 17th century. At the time this map was made, Peter the Great had just become the Emperor of Russia, and the country now spanned from the Baltic in the east to the Pacific in the west, making it by far the largest country in the world - and also one of the most sparsely populated.
This map looks great at all sizes: 12x16 inches (31x41cm), 18x24 inches (45.5x61cm) and 24x36 inches (61x91.5cm), but it looks even better when printed large.
I can create beautiful, large prints of this map up to 90 inches (229cm). Please get in touch if you're looking for larger, customised or different framing options.
The model in the listing images is holding the 20x16 inch (51x40.5cm) version of this map.
The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.
If you’re looking for something slightly different, another option would be this amazing map of the same area by Tallis and Rapkin in 1851.
Many of the towns, villages and cities of Russia are already visible in this map.
The locations on this map include countries such as Poland (Polonia), Germany (Germanie), Lithuania, Finland, Armenia, and much of eastern Europe (though they are mostly labelled with much older names that you might not recognise.
You can also see the Baltic Sea (Baltick Sea), The White Sea, Lagado Lake, Black Sea (Pontus Euxinus) and Caspian Sea (Mare Caspium). Cities such as Moscow (Moscovia), Kazan (Cazan), Tula (Tule) and Crimea are also visible on this map.
This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving or housewarming gift for someone from Russia or has Russia close to their heart.
This map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.