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Detailed map of northern Khazakistan and southern Russi, from a French edition of Peter Simon Pallas' Voyages du Professeur Pallas, dans Plusieurs Provinces de l'Empire de Russie et dans l'Asie Septentrionale, engraved by Tardieu.
The map tracks the course of the Alei River in the Zmeinogorsky District, Altai Krai, Russia and the Irtysch River in Khazakistan.
Pallas, of German origin, was a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and on request of the Russian government explored the lesser-known provinces of the Russian Empire.
His travel books opened up Russia to the West and served as a model for 18th-century travel literature.
Pierre Antoine Tardieu (1784-1869), also known to sign his works as PF Tardieu, was a prolific French map engraver and geographer. The Tardieu family, based in Paris, was well known for their talent in engraving, cartography, and illustration. Pierre Antoine’s father, Antoine Francois Tardieu, was an established cartographer who published numerous atlases. His son is said to have collaborated with him for many years before establishing his own independent career.
Pierre Antoine Tardieu’s most famous work includes engravings of the islands of La Palma and Tenerife, for which in 1818 he was awarded a bronze medal by King Louis-Phillipe for the beauty and accuracy of his mapping. Other famous work includes his mapping of Louisiana and Mexico, engravings of Irish counties, maps of Russia and Asia, and his highly celebrated illustrations of all the provinces of France. He was also the first mapmaker to engrave on steel.
Tardieu was a popular map engraver in his lifetime, enjoying the patronage of the likes of Alexander von Humboldt and respect among his peers. In 1837, he was appointed the title Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur. As was written in his obituary in the Bulletin of the Geographical Society of France, he was renowned for his combination of technical talent and scholarly research skills and praised for furthering his family’s well-respected name in the scientific arts.
![[ Tsar Alexander II ] Alexander II Kaiser von Russland](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/91242.jpg)
