20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
GERTSEN, Aleksandr Ivanovich [Alexander HERZEN].
Byloe i dumy: Pervoe polnoe izdanie [My Past and Thoughts: First complete edition].
First complete edition of Herzen's main work and "great historical classic" (Sviatopolk-Mirskii). Scarce: we could not trace any example at auction in or outside Russia in recent decades. Read more
Read MoreTravels & History: Russia, Siberia, Asia and Pacific
Photographic Views of Arkhangelsk and its Region.
A lovely group of photographs, showing Northern indigenous peoples and local trades by one of the main photographers of the Russian North.
Read MoreFine copy of the first edition in book form, one of 3,000 copies. This long poem, written in 1914, first appeared in the magazine Apollon in 1915, and represents a summing-up of Akhmatova's early manner.
Read MorePerforming Arts: Theatre, Dance, Cinema
Autograph letter to "cher Directeur" [Jacques Hébertot].
A two-page letter, beautifully signed, where Diaghilev is chasing a significant amount of money due by the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. 38,524 francs is the amount Diaghilev is expecting following a charity gala, where his Ballets Russes performed
Read More20th century: Avant-Garde
CHAGALL, Marc (artist) and Der NISTER [pseud. for Pinchus KAHANOVICH].
A Mayse mit a Hon; Dos Tsigele [A Story About a Rooster [and] The Little Kid].
The birth of a rich book-illustrating career: Chagall's first book, showing 9 full-page illustrations, and the only children's book to be illustrated by the great modern artist.
Read MoreChildren, Education, Languages
Rossiiskii, s nemetskim i frantsuzskim perevodami, slovar. [Russian Dictionary, with German and French Translations]
A great glance at the Russian language under Catherine the Great: more than mere translations, this thick dictionary gives German and French explanations to a wealth of Russian words and expressions.
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
Na putiakh k dvortsovomu perevorotu (zagovory pered revoliutsii 1917 goda) [On the Paths Towards a Palace Coup (plots ahead of the 1917 Revolution)].
First edition of this historical analysis of the secret plots and intrigues swirling around the Imperial regime in the lead up to 1917.
Read MoreFirst edition of one of Akhmatova's most famous works. One of 500 copies only. Written between 1935 and 1940, 'Requiem' was not published in Russia until 1987.
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
SKITALETS [pseud. of Stepan Gavrilovich PETROV].
O znamenitykh russkikh liudiakh [On Famous Russian People].
A very rare Japanese imprint. We are not aware of any other example having been on the market, and we could locate only two copies of this first edition in public institutions worldwide
Read MoreFirst edition of this important collection of stories on Soviet labour camps, which Shalamov (1907-82), a poet and man of letters on the wrong side of the Soviet authorities
Read MoreLiterature: European languages
Les Fables d'Esope Phrygien, avec Celles de Philelphe.
Russian imperial example of an uncommon illustrated edition of Aesop's fables, in red morocco with Tsarina Maria Feodorovna's gilt arms. Attractively illustrated edition of Bellegarde's compilation of fables by Aesop, Philelphus, Gabrias, and Avienus, first published in Amsterdam in 1708. Read more
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
PUSHKIN, Aleksandr Sergeevich, Sergey LIFAR and Prof. M. L. GOFMAN (editors).
[Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829].
Fine copy of this private production, from the very rare issue of 50 copies only, each one bearing the printed name of the recipient, this one from the 30 copies on papier de Hollande, after 20 on Japon. Another issue was limited to 200 copies, without specific recipients... Read more
Read MoreCostumes, Fashion & Military
HARDING, E[dward] (publisher) [and William ALEXANDER].
Costume of the Russian Empire. Costume de l'empire russe. Illustrated by upwards of seventy richly coloured engravings. Representé en plus de soixante-dix gravures superbement colorées.
Fine example, attractively bound. The costumes were drawn after Georgi and Mueller, the English text was written by William Alexander, after the main texts available at the time on Russia.
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
BULGAKOV, Mikhail Afanasyevich.
Zapiski iunogo vracha; Diavoliada and Other Stories [Notes of a Young Doctor; Diaboliad and Other Stories].
Comprising 10 stories first published in 1922-1926. The typescript partially reproduces the first and the only book by Bulgakov to be published in Russia during his lifetime.
Read MoreSUPERB EXAMPLE OF THIS 'MASTERPIECE OF THE RUSSIAN POETIC AVANT-GARDE' (Johnson 25) INSCRIBED BY ILIAZD TO ANDRE SALMON, a talented man of letters, poet and leading art critic.
Read MoreLiterature: European languages
DUPRÉ DE SAINT-MAURE, Jean-Pierre-Émile (editor).
Anthologie russe, suivie de poésies originales.
Pushkin and the Golden Age of Russian poetry come to the West: the very first publication of Russia's celebrated poet in Western Europe in the first anthology of Russian poetry in French.
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
DOSTOEVSKY, Fedor Mikhailovich.
Besy [The Devils, sometimes The Possessed or Demons].
One of Dostoevsky's great novels, and the first of his books published by Dostoevsky himself. Besy captures "the full grandeur of Dostoevsky's extraordinary endeavor[ ]"
Read MoreRussian Americana
GLADKII, S.V. and Iu.K. DVORZHITSKII (editors).
S beregov Ameriki: iubileinyi istoricheskii sbornik o-va Russkih morskih ofitserov v Amerike, 1923 – 1938. [From the Shores of America: commemorative historical compendium of the Association of former Russian naval officers in America, 1923 - 1938].
The Russian Navy and the Americas: warmly inscribed by one of the authors to the first Russian submarine commander in the Pacific. "Very rare" (Savine) illustrated émigré publication, with historical folding maps featuring the arctic coast of Russia... Read more
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
Pervyi vinokur ili kak chertenok kraiushku zasluzhil. Komediia [The First Distiller, or How the Little Devil Earned his Crust. A Comedy].
The rare first edition of Tolstoy's first play, in the original wrappers. The First Distiller is a comedy on the evils of drink.
Read MoreTravels & History: Western Europe
The Travels and Memoirs of Sir John Reresby...
...The Former (now First Published) Exhibiting a View of the Governments and Society in the Principal States and Courts of Europe, during the Time of Cromwell's Usurpation; the Latter Containing Anecdotes, and Secret History of the Courts of Charles II. and James II.
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
Khoziain i rabotnik. Rasskaz [Master and Man. A Story].
The first edition of one of Tolstoy's greatest and most popular short stories, with the original wrappers. This copy bears the correct first issue points
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
BLOK, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich.
O liubvi, poezii i gosudarstvennoi sluzhbe [Dialogue About Love, Poetry and Government Service].
Pleasant example of this uncommon work, which grew out of the play 'The King on the Square' (1907) and first appeared the same year in the magazine 'Pereval'. It reflects Blok's personal crisis, as well as his observations on the Russian society and the 1905 Revolution.
Read More20th century: Avant-Garde
Zaumnyi iazyk u: Seifullinoi Vs Ivanova Leonova Babelia I Selvinskogo A Veselogo i dr. Kniga 127-ia. [The Transrational Language of: Seifullina, Vs. Ivanov, Leonov, Babel, I. Selvinskii, A. Veselyi, and others. Book 127.]
The first edition; with covers designed by Kulagina-Klutsis. This collection of essays on experimental language by one of its most prominent practitioners closes with an exhaustive bibliography of Kruchenykh's works to date.
Read More20th century: Avant-Garde
Lenin. Risunki Natana Altmana [Lenin. Sketches by Natan Altman].
In 1920, Altman was invited to the Kremlin to create a bronze portrait of Vladimir Lenin. To complete this task, he spent about six weeks with the Bolsheviks' leader The best sketches in preparation of the bronze bust eventually formed this booklet.
Read More20th century: Avant-Garde
ESENIN, Sergei, with Boris PASTERNAK, Andrei BELII et al.
Iav'. Stikhi [Reality. Poems].
Exceptional association copy of this scandalous book of imagist poems, extensively inscribed by three co-authors including Esenin - to a fourth one, Alexander Olenin (1865-1944).
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
SVITKOV, Nikolai [pseud. for Nikolai STEPANOV].
Masonstvo v Russkoi Emigratsii [Freemasonry in Russian emigration].
Rare second edition of Svitkov's main work on freemasonry, where he details the development of modern Russian Masonic lodges outside of Russia since 1920, adding a list of Russian Freemasons as of January 1, 1932 (to which he even includes Vladimir Ulianov-Lenin). It follows the first edition printed in Paris 32 years earlier, and a third, very similar edition was published by the same company in 1966. This second edition was augmented with a preface by V. Merzheevskii, a contribution by the Chairman of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, bishop Antonii, and Svitkov's article "Voennaia lozha" [Military lodge], published earlier in 1955 in Vladimirskii vestnik periodical. Read more
Read MoreA fresh example in a lovely binding of the first edition of Kant's celebrated Critique of Practical Reason in which the philosopher formulates the 'categorical imperative', the foundation of modern ethics. PMM 226 (note).
Read MoreLiterature: Russian and neighbours
YERMOLOV, Aleksei Petrovich, also ERMOLOV.
[Notes of Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov about the war of 1812 [Zapiski Alekseia Petrovicha Ermolova o voine 1812 goda].
A detailed account of the Great Patriotic War by one of the most distinguished Russian military leaders. The important émigré first edition, printed in London and forbidden in Russia. A very good example with the rare printed wrapper bound-in. Read more
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
SOLZHENITSYN, Aleksandr Isaevich.
Odin den Ivana Denisovich [One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich].
The rare first edition of Solzhenitsyn's first published book; a celebrated "pirate" edition published abroad without the author's consent.
Read MoreTravels & History: Western Europe
Historischer Festzug des 500 jährigen Münsterjubiläums in Ulm am 29 und 30 Juni 1877.
First edition of a rare and vast chromolithographed panorama, with highlights by hand. Begun in 1377, Ulm Minster was completed on the 31 May 1890, becoming the tallest building in the world; it remains the tallest church in the world to this day. Read more
Read MoreTravels & History: Russia, Siberia, Asia and Pacific
LOUKOMSKI [LUKOMSKIY] Georgii Krestsenovich.
Le Kreml (Kremlin) de Moscou. Ses cathédrales, ses palais et ses trésors d'art.
A complete example of this impressive photographic survey of the Kremlin, often found incomplete. The 120 plates include photographic views and details of the Kremlin buildings and churches
Read MoreTravels & History: Russia, Siberia, Asia and Pacific
Kitaiskie, manchzhurskie, mongolskie, iliiskie, koreiskie, iaponskie, aninanskie i neizvestnye monety, medali, assignatsii, menialnye bilety, zolotye i serebrianye slitki. [Catalogue of copper money of Chinese, Japanese, Korean Vietnamese and uncertain origins, medals, paper-money, exchange notes, gold and silver bars].
The scarce catalogue of Asian numismatics compiled by Baron Stanislas de Chaudoir, one of the greatest coin collectors of the early 19th century. With an unusual bibliography, only in Chinese ideograms
Read MoreSciences, Economics, Politics, Philosophy
[LENIN, pseud.:] Vladimir ILYN [pseud. for Vladimir Ilyich ULIANOV].
Razvitie kapitalizma v Rossii. Protsess obrazovaniia vnutrenniago rynka dlia krupnoi promyshlennosti [The Development of Capitalism in Russia. The Process of Formation of a Home Market for Large-Scale Industry].
First edition of Lenin's first substantial work, and one of his first two books published in 1899. A landmark economic analysis, the Development of Capitalism was researched and written while Lenin was first in prison, then in exile in Siberia.
Read More20th century: Dissidence & Emigre
Posle Rossii. 1922-1925 [After Russia. 1922-1925].
First edition of Tsvetaeva's last book of poems, one of her major works, banned in the USSR; a lovely example, in original wrappers, one of 500 only, including 100 not for sale.
Read More