Rezanov Reconnoiters California, 1806; A new translation of Rezanov's letter, part of Lieutenant Khvostov's log of the ship Juno, and Dr. Georg von Langsdorff observations

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [Grabhorn-Hoyem printers], 1972. First Edition. Limited to 450 copies [10.25x7in]; xix, 73 pp. [1] colophon, frontispiece portrait of Rezanov, 15 illustrations in text, two maps; Light brown paper covers on boards, black lettering on paper label on spine, panoramic illustration on front, spine and back cover of sketches of the California coast by Vancouver 1798, all edges trimmed; Original plain cream dust jacket; Minimal shelf wear to book, some rubbing to bottom edge and slight faded strip along top edge. [Hill 1354, BCC #140]. Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov (1764-1807) was a Russian nobleman and statesman, and explorer that promoted Russian settlement of Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and Alta California. He organized the Russian-American Company to develop settlements. Rezanov was named as the Russian Ambassador to Japan and traveled their as part of a circumnavigation exploration (1803-06) led by Iurii Lisyansky. After concluding treaties with Japan, Rezanov separated from the expedition in 1805 at Kamchatka, along with Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff (1774-1852), a German naturalist and physician accompanying the expedition. They traveled to Alaska to review the Russian-American company's operations in Sitka and New Archangel. In 1806, they traveled to Yerba Buena (San Francisco) for supplies and for Rezanov to negotiate a treaty establishing Russian-American colonies in California (Fort Ross) and the Pacific Northwest. Rezanov was smitten by Dona Concepcion, daughter of the Commandante Jose Arguello, and the romance lead to an engagement. Rezanov had to return the needed supplies to New Archangel and then on to St. Petersburg to report on the treaties. Once his mission was complete, he was to send for Dona Concepcion to join him and be married. Unfortunately, he died of fever while crossing Siberia. From Hill, "Dona Concepcion's long wait for him and her later entry into a convent made her a sympathetic figure in the most poignant romance of Hispanic Alta California. Langsdorff's writings on the his six week visit to California with Rezanov were one of the first published in Europe and London.

Georg Heinrich von Langsdorff (1774-1852) was a German naturalist and explorer that was a member of the Russian Imperial Academy of Sciences. He was selected as the naturalist and physician by Adam von Krusenstern for a Russian sponsored circumnavigation exploration (1803-06) The Co-commander was Count Nikolai Rezanov, a Russian nobleman promoting the colonization of Alaska and California. Both Langsdorff and Rezanov separated from the expedition in 1805 at Kamchatka and traveled to Alaska to review the Russian-American company's operations. In 1806, they traveled to San Francisco for Rezanov to negotiate a treaty establishing Russian-American colonies in California (Fort Ross) and the Pacific Northwest. Langsdorff also describes the romance between Rezanov and Dona Concepcion, daughter of the Commandante Jose Arguello. Langsdorff's writings on the his six week visit to California were one of the first published in Europe and London. From Hill, 'Nearly 70 pages are devoted to the extensive visit by Rezanov to San Francisco and the surrounding country in 1806.