A scarce 17th century map of the Volga River

A map of the Volga River from Nizhniy Novgorod (birthplace of Maxim Gorky) south to the Caspian Sea, marking Astrakhan. Adam Ölschläger (latinised as Olearius) visited Persia between 1635 & 1639 as secretary to a mission from Holstein in Germany to open up a trade route for Persian silk via Russia and the Caspian Sea. His map was one of the first published in the west to show the Caspian as being longer than wider, something he himself has witnessed. Because this map first appeared in this edition of the 'Atlas Major', it is one of the more uncommon Blaeu atlas maps.