beautiful and large colour map showing the complex geology of the rich Western Ural ridge, including the towns of Ufa and Perm and their surroundings.

Now home to two of the biggest oil refineries in Russia and crossed by the Trans-Siberian Railway, Ufa and its region lie at the heart of one of Russia's main oil producing regions, the Volga-Ural Petroleum and Gas Province (Volgo-uralskaya Neftegazonosnaya Oblast).

The mining engineer Meller (1840-1910) conducted extensive research in the area between 1860 and 1867. As a result, the map highlights the main deposits of coal, iron and copper, as well as local factories and mines. Meller centered the map on the town of Kungur, inbetween Perm and Ufa: its creation in 1648 marked the beginning of discoveries of many valuable minerals. Their systematic extraction under Peter the Great led to the region becoming the largest mineral base in Russia.

Chromolithograph wall map (122 x 60.3 cm). Dissected into 12 sections and mounted on linen, two hanging rings at the back, folding into a contemporary violet cloth slipcase with gilt-lettering to spine; slipcase rubbed.