Golden Age of Russian literature

Image for NARBUT & KRYLOV. Tri basni [Three Fables]. Knebel, Moscow, 1911, first edition with these illustrations. #2

Fables in silhouette

NARBUT, Egor (artist) and Ivan Andreevich KRYLOV

Tri basni Krylova [Three Fables by Krylov]

Knebel, Moskva, [1911]. £850

Three fables by the most famous Russian fabulist, here illustrated by the leading Ukrainian artist. Scarce in this attractive condition.

Pushkin in the library of a poet-collector

[PUSHKIN]

Albom Pushkinskoi Vystavki [Album of the Pushkin Exhibition]

K.A. Fisher, Moskva, 1899. £850

A relatively large-format publication with hundreds of illustrations showing Pushkin's creations, personality, friends, contemporaries, as well as later interpretations. From N. Turoverov's collection, an important Cossack officer, poet and collector.

Image for PUSHKIN. Eugene Oneguine. First English translation, inscribed. London, 1881. #2

Onegin in English for the first time, "with the translator's compliments"

PUSHKIN, Alexander and Henry SPALDING (transl.)

Eugene Onéguine

London, Macmillan and Co., 1881. £8,000

Desirable copy of this landmark translation, the first into English and here inscribed by the translator.

Image for BYRON & KOZLOV. Nevesta Abidosskaia [The Bride of Abydos]. First edition in Russian verse, Skt. Peterburg, 1826. #2

Byron's Turkish poem in Pushkin's Russia

[BYRON, George Gordon] Dzh.-G. BAIRON and Ivan KOZLOV (transl.)

Nevesta Abidosskaia. Turetskaia povest [The Bride of Abydos. A Turkish Story]

Smirdin, Skt Peterburg, 1826. £4,750

Very attractive copy of this rare work, the first translation in verse of Byron's 'Eastern poem'. Praised by contemporaries and influential, here retaining its original wrappers. Only 3 copies traced in WorldCat.

Image for POUCHKINE. Ruslan et Ludmila, première édition en vers, avec envoi, Paris, 1898. #2

Inscribed by the translator, a feminist character

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

Rouslane et Ludmile

Lafoyer, Vannes, for Librairie de l'art indépendant, Paris, 1898. £2,450

The 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.

Image for A. GRIBOEDOV. Gore ot Uma [Woe from Wit]. St. Petersburg, 1854. Rare small-format edition. #2

Wit in your pocket - with wrappers

GRIBOEDOV, Aleksandr

Gore ot uma. Komediia v chetyrekh deistviiakh, v stikhakh [Woe from Wit. A Comedy in Four Acts in Verse]

Tip. Shtaba Voenno-Uchebn. Zaved., Skt Peterburg, 1854. £2,500

Rare small-format edition of this famous masterpiece of Russian theatre, a lovely copy with its original wrappers. No copy traced in WorldCat.

Image for NARBUT & KRYLOV. Basni [Fables]. Knebel, Moscow, 1912, first edition with these illustrations. #2

Fables in silhouette

NARBUT, Egor (artist) and Ivan Andreevich KRYLOV

Basni Krylova [Krylov's Fables]

Knebel, Moskva, [1912]. £850

Some of the most famous Russian fables here illustrated by the leading Ukrainian artist. Scarce in this lovely condition.

Image for P. SVININ. Ezhedn. zapiski v Londone. First edition, Skt. Peterburg, 1817. #2

The first Russian book on the UK and its capital, and the start of Russian anglomania

SVININ, Pavel Petrovich

Ezhednevnyia zapiski v Londone [A Daily London Notebook]

Sanktpeterburg, V tipografii Imperatorskago Vospititel'nago doma, 1817. £4,750

Rare first edition of this little book giving the London impressions of a keen Russian observer, just after Napoleon's disastrous Russian campaign. A fascinating read on many various themes. With interesting aristocratic provenance.

Image for Noveishii polnyi pismovnik... St. Petersburg, 1820. #2

How to write letters about everything

Noveishii polnyi pismovnik ili vseobshchyi sekretar [The Newest Complete Letter-Writing Manual, or General Secretary]

Sanktpeterburg, 1-ii Kadetsk. korpus, 1820. £1,750

A great resource for any Russian writing letters at the beginning of the 19th century: from love letters in verses to business and administrative correspondance, or official letters to the highest-ranked people, everything is included in this rare work. No copy of this edition traced outside Russia.

Image for Charles P. de KOCK. La Laitière de Montfermeil in Russian, first edition. Skt. Peterburg, 1832. #2

French peasants in Russian literature

KOK, Pol de [Charles Paul de KOCK]

Monfermelskaia molochnitsa [La Laitière de Montfermeil]

Pliushar [Pluchart], Skt. Peterburg, 1832. £1,450

First Russian edition, rare, in an attractive copy. A great example of cross-cultural literary exchange at the time of some of the best Russian literature.

Image for F.de R***. Fables en vers. Barante's copy of the first edition. St. Petersburg, 1835. #2

Rare and beautiful

F. J. E. de R***

Fables en vers

J. F. Hauer, St. Pétersbourg, 1835. £3,500

An exceptionnally rare French publication in Russia at the heart of the Golden Age and a few years before Custine's famous travel, with a long preface expressing the author's political views. With great provenance and finely bound.

Image for GOGOL. Mertvie dushi [Dead Souls]. First edition. Moscow, 1842 #2

Gogol's masterpiece with "All of Russia"

GOGOL, Nikolai

Pokhozhdeniia Chichikova, ili Mertvyia dushi. Poema [The Adventures of Chichikov, or Dead Souls. A Poem]

Universit. Tip., Moskva, 1842. £39,500

A pinacle of humour and Russia's second great novel (after Lermontov's 'Hero of our Times'), here in a fine example of the first edition, with the very rare and famous upper wrapper.

Image for GOGOL N. Les Ames mortes. Première édition complète, Paris, 1859. #2

Première édition complète en français

GOGOL, Nicolas

Les Âmes mortes. Traduit du russe par Ernest Charrière

Publications de Lahure, Paris, 1859. £550

Un des meilleurs romans de la littérature russe traduit en français - un bon exemplaire en chemise d'éditeur de la première édition de cette importante traduction.

Image for KRYLOV, Ivan. Fables russes. Paris, Didot, 1825. Fine example. #2

Russian fables for Europe: illustrated and translated

KRYLOV – KRILOFF, Ivan Andreevich

Basni russkiia [...] Fables russes [...] imitées en vers Français et Italiens par divers auteurs

Didot for Bossange, Paris, 1825. £8,750

Attractive example of this famous edition of Russia's greatest fabulist, in Russian, French and Italian, with engraved plates. A luxury lifetime production, here particularly fresh.

With two suites

POUCHKINE, Alexandre and Vasily CHOUKHAEFF (artist) [PUSHKIN and SHUKHAEV]

Boris Godounov

Éditions de la Pléiade, J. Schiffrin, Paris, 1925. £5,250

One of the great artists' books of the Russian Paris school - here in the deluxe version on Japon Impérial: one of 18 copies only.

Image for LERMONTOV and PULSZKY. The Hero of Our Days. London, 1854. #4

Translated by a revolutionary woman

LERMONTOV, Mikhail Iurievitch

The Hero of Our Days, from the Russian of Michael Lermontoff, by Theresa Pulszky

Thomas Hodgson, London, 1854. £1,450

Lermontov translated by a friend of Herzen and wife of a Hungarian revolutionary. First edition of this translation.

Image for NAKHIMOV, Akim. Works in Verse and Prose. First edition, Kharkov, 1815. #2

Rare Russian fables from Ukraine

NAKHIMOV, Akim Nikolaevich

Sochineniia v stikhakh i proze [Works in Verse and Prose]

Universit. tip., Kharkov, 1815. £1,250

Early Russian fables (and other poetical works) at the dawn of Russia's Golden Age of Literature - the authors only book, written and printed in Kharkov, nowadays Ukraine. No copy traced outside Russia.

Image for Pushkin through the Caucasus, one of 50 copies, by Serge Lifar #1

Svetlov-Fekula copy - one of 50 only

PUSHKIN, Aleksandr Sergeevich, Sergey LIFAR and Prof. M. L. GOFMAN (editors)

Puteshestvie v Arzrum vo vremia pokhoda 1829 goda [Journey to Arzrum during the campaign of 1829]

Lifar, Paris, 1934. £2,950

Pushkin's best travel account in a fine bibliophilic edition, one of 50 'ad nominem' copies only, this one for Valerian Svetlov.

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