| Summary: | Manuscript map.; Written at top: "Acquired by gift 1920 from Jonas Lied thru Dr. Isaiah Bowman."; This map concerns the "Kara Sea route," an Arctic trade route attempting to link the western world with the vast natural resources of Siberia. In 1912, Jonas Lied, a Norwegian, and his British partner, Alfred Derry, formed the Siberian Company to develop this sea route. There are three other manuscript maps to accompany this sheet which are detailed plans of ports that were proposed to be built along this route. Port Belooshe was to be on Novaja Zemlya, while Port Nakhodka and Port Yeneseisk were to be at the mouths of the Ob and Yenisey Rivers, respectively. Despite initial successes, the Russian Revolution of 1917 and its aftermath eventually brought the plans of the Siberian Company to an end. Lied relates the story of the company in his book, /Siberian Arctic /(1960). Illustrations in the book (Plans I, II, III and IV on p. 201-204) are clearly based on the four manuscript maps described here. All four manuscript maps are signed by the same person, but the signature is not completely legible. It may be that of "Wickman," who is mentioned by Lied in his book: "I chose the natural harbor of Belooshe and commissioned the famous Russian engineer Wickman to draw up the plans." (Lied 1960, p. 97). Color; 1:4,268,000
|
|---|