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Description

Hand-colored engraved map of the Riga Governate from Alexander Wilbrecht's famed 1792 Russian Atlas (Российский атлас), the best 18th-century atlas of Russia.

Seven subdivisions within the present map are differentiated with contemporary hand-coloring. Riga is illustrated and labeled in the lower left of the map.

Wilbrecht's atlas reflects the provincial reforms of Catherine II, which took place from 1775-1785. It is comprised of 45 engraved maps, including a general map of Russia that shows Russian settlement in North America based on explorations that took place in 1784-87.  According to RBH, a copy of the atlas sold at Bonhams for $82,750 in 2006.

The Riga Governate

The Riga Governate was an administrative unit within the Russian Empire, comprising much of present-day Latvia north of the Daugava River, and some of Estonia.  It was formed by Catherine II in 1783 and transformed into the Livonia Province by her son Pavel I, in 1796.