French enlightenment in Russia

MONTESKE [MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de]

Pisma persidskiia [Lettres persanes]
£3,750

MONTESKE [MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de], Pisma persidskiia [Lettres persanes]Rare first illustrated edition of the 'Lettres persanes' in Russian, in contemporary binding with lovely Russian endpapers. Read More

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In the publisher's wrappers

LORENS, D. G. [D. H. LAWRENCE] and Tatiana LESHCHENKO (transl.)

Liubovnik ledi Chatterlei
£3,950

LORENS, D. G. [D. H. LAWRENCE] and Tatiana LESHCHENKO (transl.), Liubovnik ledi ChatterleiFirst edition in Russian of Lawrence's famous scandalous work, banned in the UK, USA and Soviet Union. An early translation by a talented Russian woman who went from Moscow to New York and to the GULAG, and inspired Solzhenitsyn. Very rare: no copy in Russian libraries, none in the UK, only two traced in WorldCat (Princeton and Syracuse). Read More

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Dickens' life for Russian readers

[DICKENS] – PLESHCHEEV, Aleksei Nikolaevich

Zhizn Dikkensa
£1,450

[DICKENS] - PLESHCHEEV, Aleksei Nikolaevich, Zhizn DikkensaRare first significant biography of the great Victorian author in Russian, written by an active (and politically engaged) man of letters. First book edition. Apparently no copy in Britain, only at the NYPL and in Sidney outside Russia. Read More

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Inscribed by the translator, a feminist character

[PUSHKIN] – Alexandre POUCHKINE, Véra STARKOFF (transl.) and Marie EGOROFF (artist)

Rouslane et Ludmile
£2,450

[PUSHKIN] - Alexandre POUCHKINE, Véra STARKOFF (transl.) and Marie EGOROFF (artist), Rouslane et LudmileThe first complete poetic French translation of Pushkin's celebrated work. Strikingly illustrated by an original Russian female artist, and this copy inscribed by the translator: a politically-engaged playwright and one of the main figures of the feminist theatre movement in France. Rarely found, and only 500 copies printed. Read More

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First Russian edition, at Miller's request

MILLER, Genri [Henry] and Georgii EGOROV (transl.)

Tropik raka
£2,750

MILLER, Genri [Henry] and Georgii EGOROV (transl.), Tropik rakaFirst Russian edition, initiated by Miller himself as soon as 1964, of this most transgressive work, banned in the USA and in Soviet Union. Published by Rosset in New York, limited to 200 copies, and now very rare on the market. Read More

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A Russian poet in the US

MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir and Aleksandr RODCHENKO (illustrator)

Moe otkrytie Ameriki
£1,000

MAYAKOVSKY, Vladimir and Aleksandr RODCHENKO (illustrator), Moe otkrytie AmerikiMayakovsky travelling to and photographed in the USA: first edition, in fine condition, with Rochenko's original wrappers. Read More

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Important early book for Russian children - with a sewn translation label

KAMPE [CAMPE, Joachim Heinrich; and Aleksandr Semenovich SHISHKOV, translator]

Detskaia biblioteka, izdannaia na nemetskom iazyke gospodinom Kampe, a s onago perevedena g. ***
£3,950

KAMPE [CAMPE, Joachim Heinrich; and Aleksandr Semenovich SHISHKOV, translator], Detskaia biblioteka, izdannaia na nemetskom iazyke gospodinom Kampe, a s onago perevedena g. ***More than a translation, an original adaptation, dedicated to Princess Dahskova, the first woman head of an Academy of Sciences and first female member of the American Philosophical Society. A very rare early edition of this important book for Russian children - and a lovely example with a sewn translation label! Read More

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Published by the first Russian woman theatre director

[BEARDSLEY] – Nikolai Nikolaevich EVREINOV

Berdslei
£1,750

[BEARDSLEY] - Nikolai Nikolaevich EVREINOV, BerdsleiFirst edition of the first Russian book on Beardsley, richly illustrated and published by the first female theatrical director in Russia. A rare publication in Western institutions. Read More

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Chagall's first book and a landmark of Yiddish book illustration.

CHAGALL, Marc (artist) and Der NISTER [pseud. for Pinchus KAHANOVICH]

A Mayse mit a Hon; Dos Tsigele
£22,500

CHAGALL, Marc (artist) and Der NISTER [pseud. for Pinchus KAHANOVICH], A Mayse mit a Hon; Dos TsigeleChagall's first illustrated book, his only children book, and a landmark of Yiddish book illustration, published the year of the Russian revolution. Very rare, especially in this very good condition: about 5 other copies known. Read More

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An exceptional, large-paper example

KRUSENSTERN, Ivan Fedorovich [KRUZENSHTERN]

Wörter-Sammlungen aus den Sprachen einiger Völker des östlichen Asiens und der Nordwest-Küste von Amerika
£13,500

KRUSENSTERN, Ivan Fedorovich [KRUZENSHTERN], Wörter-Sammlungen aus den Sprachen einiger Völker des östlichen Asiens und der Nordwest-Küste von AmerikaFirst edition of Kruzenshtern's important study of North Pacific languages, in a superb, very unusual example: very crisp, uncut, in plain temporary wrappers and printed on thicker woven paper. We were unable to trace other such large-paper copies. A rare book on the market: only two copies at auction. Read More

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18th-c. Russian explained in French and German

NORDSTET, Ivan

Rossiiskii, s nemetskim i frantsuzskim perevodami, slovar
£1,000

NORDSTET, Ivan, Rossiiskii, s nemetskim i frantsuzskim perevodami, slovarA thick and uncommon dictionary explaning in German and French the Russian language used during Catherine the Great. A very good copy in contemporary binding. Read More

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First Pushkin in Europe, inscribed

[PUSHKIN] – DUPRÉ DE SAINT-MAURE, Jean-Pierre-Émile (editor)

Anthologie russe, suivie de poésies originales
£2,500

[PUSHKIN] - DUPRÉ DE SAINT-MAURE, Jean-Pierre-Émile (editor), Anthologie russe, suivie de poésies originalesA great work: the first European publication of Russia's greatest poet, and the first French anthology of Russian poetry. A fresh example of the first edition, inscribed by the author Read More

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Out of stock
SOLD
The achievements of Japanese colonisation in Sakhalin

Karafuto Shashin-cho

, Karafuto Shashin-choGreat visual record of South Sakhalin in the 1920s-30s: wide-ranging, artistic - and scarce. A beautifully fresh example. Read More

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Out of stock
SOLD
"International city": Russian caricatures in Japanese China

RUF [pseud. for Ruf Sozonovich ANANIN] (artist)

Kharbin v krivom zerkale

RUF [pseud. for Ruf Sozonovich ANANIN] (artist), Kharbin v krivom zerkaleWitty depictions of the Russian diaspora in Harbin under Japanese occupation. A complete set of these fine postcards, within the printed wrappers: very rare so. Read More

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Out of stock
SOLD
An English best-seller in 18th-c. Russia

HERVEY, James, and Elizaveta NILOVA (transl.)

Nadgrobnyia razmyshlenia

HERVEY, James, and Elizaveta NILOVA (transl.), Nadgrobnyia razmyshleniaFirst Russian edition of an English 'graveyard' literary work: by a female translator, dedicated to a woman, and later confiscated by Catherine the Great. Very rare. Read More

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Out of stock
SOLD
Walter Scott's Napoleon in Pushkin's Russia

SKOTT, Valter [Walter SCOTT]

Pisma o Frantsii v 1815 godu Sira Valtera Skotta pod imenem Pavla

SKOTT, Valter [Walter SCOTT], Pisma o Frantsii v 1815 godu Sira Valtera Skotta pod imenem PavlaVery rare first Russian edition of Walter Scott's Paul's Letters to His Kinsfolk in Russian, published at the height of Pushkin's fame. No copy traced in the UK nor the USA. Read More

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Out of stock
SOLD
With patterned Russian endpapers

[D’AGOULT, Charles (Attrib.)]

Akh, kak vy glupy gospoda frantsuzy

[D'AGOULT, Charles (Attrib.)], Akh, kak vy glupy gospoda frantsuzyAttractive example of this scarce anti-revolutionary tract, published when Catherine the Great was distancing herself from some consequences of the French philosophers' thoughts. In contemporary binding ith zig-zag Russian endpapers. Read More

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