“NOTHING, IT HAS BEEN SAID, BUT URGENT NECESSITY INDUCES TRAVELLERS IN SIBERIA TO COMMENCE A JOURNEY WHEN THE COLD IS AT AN EXTREME”

HILL, S.S. Travels in Siberia. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1854. Two volumes. Octavo, early 20th-century three-quarter tan calf rebacked with elaborately gilt-decorated spines laid down, raised bands, burgundy and tan morocco spine labels, marbled boards and endpapers, top edges gilt, uncut. $1600.

First edition of this scarce 19th-century travel narrative about Russia and Siberia, with large folding map of the Russian Empire featuring hand-colored outlines.

This work details the journey of S.S. Hill from the suburbs of Moscow to the most remote regions of Siberia. He painstakingly recounts his interactions with the various people he meets—representing all classes, cultures, and ethnicities within Russian and Chinese society—and provides wonderful insight into 19th-century Russian life from the pleasures of its cuisine and entertainments to the dangers posed by illnesses such as cholera.

Folding map expertly linen-backed with small paper repair, interior quite nice. A handsome copy in exceptionally good condition. Quite scarce.