[Mining Map of the Donetsk Coal Basin] / Горнопромышленная карта Донецкого каменноугольного бассейна.

Description

An extremely rare 1894 mining map of Donets (Donetsk) in eastern Ukraine, the primary coal producing region of the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union and independent Ukraine. At the time this map was made, the Donets region provided over 80% of the Russian Empire’s coal. Since mining operations started in Donets in the 1870s, coal has been closely tied to the region’s economy and identity. In fact, the name Donbass (Ukrainian: Донбас; Russian: Донбасс) is an abbreviation of “Donets Coal Basin” (Ukrainian: Донецький вугільний басейн, Russian: Донецкий угольный бассейн; here as Донецкого каменноугольного бассейна).

The map shows major roads, waterways, cities, industrial centers, ports, and railway stations. Coal mines and their owners are marked in red font. The shading on the map represent deposits of minerals from geological eras. The inset map at top-right is a road map of the broader region of southwestern Russia and eastern Ukraine. The rail lines seen here compose the various branches of the Ekaterininsky Railway, the main artery through the region that carried coal and other industrial products.

This is a chromolithographed folding pocket map consisting of 24 segments. It was compiled by Apollon Mevius [Аполлон Мевиус] and was of critical importance to mining interests in the region due to the large amount of information it contained. An accompanying booklet includes additional maps and tables, including a listing of mine owners and their annual freight. At least four editions exist, all quite rare today. The present 1894 edition is only known to be held by the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg and the Russian State Library in Moscow.