An impressive three-sheet map of the Russian Empire

A fine large-scale map detailing the expanse of the Russian Empire under Catherine the Great, stretching from Poland to Kamchatka and the Aleutian Islands. There are three cartouches: the title is supported by embodiments of mapmaking and discovery; the scale has an obelisk with an 'E' crowned with laurels (the first letter of Catherine's name in Russian); and bottom right is a vignette of Catherine herself looking at a map of her conquests during the Russo-Turkish war (1768-74), aided by Mercury, a view of St Petersburg behind. This map was first published in St Petersburg in 1776.