Extensive record of St Petersburg at the end of its first century

GEORGI, Johann Gottlieb

Versuch einer Beschreibung der Russisch Kayserl. Residenzstadt St. Petersburg
Riga, Johann Friederich Hartknoch, 1793. £1,500

Crisp, attractive example of this important and very detailed description of the Russian northern capital and its region. Complete with both maps, on thick paper.

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South-east Ukraine in bold colours

SCHLATTER, Daniel

Bruchstücke aus einigen Reisen nach dem Südlichen Russland, in den Jahren 1822 bis 1828
Wegelin & Kätzer for Hubner & Co., St. Gallen, 1830. £850

First edition of this account of the area comprised between Perekop and Mariopol, on the shores of the Sea of Azov; with a particular focus on the nomadic Nogai Tatars, and the local German colonies. Complete, with the fine plates here in bright, bold original watercolours.

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More than 100 Russian éminences grises

[HELBIG, Georg Adolf Wilhelm von, attrib.]

Russische Günstlinge
J. G. Gotta, Tübingen, 1809. £200

From Peter to Catherine, an interesting history of the right-hand men close to the Tsar. First edition; the text was partly censored in Russia up to the 20th century.

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The Russian Venice after 90 years

STORCH Heinrich and Daniel CHODOWIECKI (engr.)

Gemaehlde von St. Petersburg
Langhoff, Berlin, for Hartknoch, Riga, 1794. £750

First edition of this important, wide-ranging and intelligent account of St. Petersburg at the end of Catherine the Great's reign. Ucnommon, especially with all plates. This copy fresh and crisp internally.

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The start of the Great Game

MURAVEV, Nikolai Nikolaevich and others

Russian Missions into the Interior of Asia
G. Sidney for Sir Richard Phillips, London, 1823. £295

Important booklet showing the British interest in new Russian 'missions' in Central Asia, with the first translation of Russian accounts of the region. A lovely copy.

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First edition of this groundbreaking work, complete

GEORGI, Johan Gottlieb

Description de toutes les nations de l'empire de Russie.
Weitrecht (part 3) et Schnoor for Charles Guillaume Muller, St. Petersbourg, 1776-7. £14,500

First edition of this fundamental work on the Russian empire and its peoples, the result of a multi-year field trip by Georgi. The first work published in Russia with plates coloured by hand. Rare complete as here.

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Central Asia in beautifully subtle tones

KRAFFT, Hugues

A Travers le Turkestan Russe
Hachette et Cie, Paris, 1902. £4,000

Remarkable photographic record of nowadays Uzbekistan and neighbouring regions - a beautiful, luxury production, and a fine example of the deluxe version, in beautiful, fresh condition.

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Fine example, inscribed

MONTFERRAND, Auguste RICARD de

Description de la grande cloche de Moscou
Paris, Thierry frères, 1840. £6,000

One of the great books on Moscow, this one focusing on the enormous bell in the Kremlin. A beautiful production of Parisian presses, this particular copy inscribed by the celebrated French architect who worked in Russia and, inter alia, built the St. Isaac Cathedral in St. Petersburg.

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A French officer pays artistic homage to the military style of his opponent

PAJOL, Charles Pierre, Comte de (Lieut.-colonel)

Armée Russe
Auguste Bry et Lemercier, Paris, 1856. £32,500

A remarkable visual record of Russian military uniforms just before the Crimean War. With beautiful full-page plates. Scarce, especially complete as here. With fine provenance: from the French Bibliothèque Impériale.

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Extremely rare colourful costumes

BASTIN, F[erdinand] (artist)

L'Armée russe [manuscript title]
Lemercier, Paris, for Daziaro, Paris and Russia, [1840s]. £4,500

Extremely rare lithographed plates with original hand-colour, mostly showing officers' costumes of the Russian Imperial Guard. A complete copy, in attractive condition.

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Important and very rare first German edition - in contemporary vellum

LOMONOSSOW, Michael [Mikhail LOMONOSOV] and Johann Lorenz STAVENHAGEN (translator)

Russische Grammatick
Skt. Peterburg, Kaiserl. Academie der Wissenschafften, 1764. £2,950

Attractive example of this celebrated, landmark grammar of the Russian language, here in its important first German translation, and the first foreign translation overall. No copies traced at auction in the last 40 years, and only 5 in libraries (1 only in USA).

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Learning Russian between Napoleon and Pushkin

HAMONIERE, G

Grammaire russe divisée en quatre parties..
Impr. Royale for Théophile Barrois fils, Paris, 1817. £875

Fine, uncut example of the first edition if this important but scarce Russian grammar, finely printed at the Imprimerie Royale.

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The first Russian steamboat - produced by a Scotsman

[BAIRD, Charles] – SUHR, Peter (artist, attrib. to)

Das St. Petersburger Dampfschiff [in pencil] [The St. Petersburg Steamboat]
[possibly Arnz, Düsseldorf, 1830s]. £1,500

Large representation of this innovative boat, one of the first passengers steamboats in the world with regular sea voyages. Very rare lithograph, before the letter and with contemporary hand-colouring, with no other copies traced in institutions.

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Rare children book - with "Cossacks regiments for the British army"

KITTLE, Samuel

A Concise History of the Cossacks: Including a Sketch of the Customs of the Greek Church
Lawrie & Co. Printers, Edinburgh, for Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, W. Baynes and W. Kent, London, T. Johnson, Dublin, 1814. £750

A very rare and unusual publication during the Cossack enthusiasm in the UK following Napoleon's failure in Russia. Apparently no copies in America, only 3 in the British Isles and none at auction in the past 50 years.

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Chinese tea in Pushkin's Russia

[GASTRONOMY]

Preis-courant neuerhaltener, ausgesuchter, bester Chinesischer Thee die zu haben sind in den Magazinen der Kaufmanns Gregorius Marinin, in St. Petersburg
[Skt. Peterburg], 1843. £2,750

Extremely rare broadside boasting "the all-best" teas from China available at a merchant's in St. Petersburg. The poster contains much interesting information and is illustrated with many Asian scenes. Very fragile but in very good condition.

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Famous portraits luxuriously bound and with provenance

SORINE, Savely [Savelii Abramovich SORIN] (artist) and André SALMON

Portraits
Edition Ganymed, Berlin, 1929. £5,950

A large, famous publication showing the rich and famous of the roaring twenties: an attractive example of this uncommon publication, coming from a descendant of some of the people portrayed. With the maximum number of plates.

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Russia explained - with a twist

GEREBTZOFF, Nicolas de [Nikolai Arsenevich ZHEREBTSOV]

Essai sur l'histoire de la civilisation en Russie
J. Claye for Amyot, Paris, 1858. £1,450

A fine example of the very first edition, originally published in French; fresh, in a master binding. Scarce, as we couldn't trace any copies at auction in many decades. An extensive work covering the history of Russia and the Russian empire, with a slavophile accent.

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From the Caspian Sea to Crimea, extensively illustrated

PALLAS, Peter Simon

Travels through the Southern Provinces of the Russian Empire [Translated from German by F.W.Blagdon].
Stockdale, London, 1812. £1,750

Fresh example of this classic travel account through Southern Russia, Ukraine and the Crimea - richly illustrated with original hand-colour. In a sturdy modern binding.

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