It is believed that Herman Moll arrived in England from Holland by 1678 and rose to become one of the most successful cartographers of his era. His engraving style is unique and attractive. Subsequently he made the move into publishing. Between the years 1719 and 1721 Carl van Verden surveyed the Caspian Sea for Peter the Great and in 1722 he seized the great fort at Derbent in Dagestan from the Persians. This is Moll’s version of the survey and is illustrated with inset views of Astrakhan, Derbent, and Terek. It was published in the ‘Atlas Minor’ from 1729. Phillips, 585; Shirley T.Moll 9a no. 29; Tooley. Dictionary of mapmakers, p. 444; Tyacke. London map-sellers, 1600-1720, pp. 122-123.