Travels in the East of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia...or, Travels in the East by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince [Nicholas], 1890-1891

Travels in the East of Nicholas II, Emperor of Russia...or, Travels in the East by His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince [Nicholas], 1890-1891

DK259 .U38

c. 1893

The Tsarevich [Crown Prince] departed from his residence at Gatchina, about thirty miles from St. Petersburg, on November 4, 1890 for a tour that ended some nine months later on August 16, 1891. Tsar Alexander II sent his son Nicholas, the twenty-two year old heir, on a nine-month tour of Asian countries. This was an event of considerable importance, as no previous reigning sovereign had enjoyed such an opportunity of seeing first-hand Russia's neighbors. The trip was carried out under the general guidance of Prince Esper Esperovich Ukhtomsky, a friend of the Tsar, a man of wealth, a publisher and editor, who was an advocate of the superior ability of Russians to understand and master Asians. The itinerary took the travelers through Warsaw to Vienna, Egypt, India, Ceylon, Thailand, Java, Saigon, China, Japan and Siberia where Nicholas broke ground in Vladivostok for the eastern terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The account of the trip is a six volume folio set of 1,500 pages with 675 engravings by Nikolai Nikolaevich Karazin (1842-1908), a renown Russian artist of the time. Ukhtomsky produced this work in close consultation with Nicholas, who read and approved each chapter. It took six years to complete, eventually had four editions. The trip was translated into English, French, German, and Chinese.

6 volumes

Rare Book Collection, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library

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