Sketches in pen and pencil from A. Vysheslavtsev’s journey around the world

   Sketches in pen and pencil is a reedition, with a commentary and foreword, of a book from 1867 containing 27 lithographs from Paul Petit, which have become a bibliographical rarity. It is a description, in diary form with drawings, of a journey around the world, undertaken by the author on vessels Plastun and Novik. A. V. Vysheslavtsev (1831–1888) was a nobleman from Tambov, a medical officer, involved in the Great Reforms of 19th century, explorer, a man of letters, artist and art historian. In three years he sailed all around the world; he visited the islands in the Atlantic ocean, the south of Africa, Singapore, Japan, the Russian coast, and on the return journey he visited the islands in the Pacific Ocean and South America. The aim of the expedition was to strengthen Russia’s presence in the recently acquired Amur Region (after the Crimean War Russia had been deprived of access to the Black Sea), and to study the coastal areas. The crowning point of the journey was staying in Japan with the squadron of Count N. N. Muravyov-Amursky, who had recently concluded a favourable agreement for Russia regarding the borders with China and who arrived to settle the Sakhalin issue. The explorers spent a whole year in the land of the rising sun. The pages dedicated to Japan’s history, culture and daily life are to this day little known to the European reader and offer us something of particular interest. This book is for geographers, historians, ethnographers, those who like Russian war and naval history, travel literature, diary genre or simply the wonderful written word.