Russian literature in first editions | PY Rare Books

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Inscribed first edition

Arkhipelag GULAG [The Gulag Archipelago]

Imprimerie Moderne (vol. 1) and Impressions Internationales (vol. 2-3), for YMCA Press, Paris, 1973-75.

First edition of Solzhenitsyn's magnum opus on the prison camp system and his best work, here in a choice copy inscribed to a leading broadcaster for the BBC Russian service in London.

Image for A. CHEKHOV. Pesy [Plays]. First edition, St. Petersburg, 1897. #2

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First edition of Chekhov's first collection of plays

Chekhov, Anton

Pesy [Plays]

А.S. Suvorin, Skt Peterburg, 1897.

Fine example of this important book in Russian literature, with some of Chekhov's most famous plays.

Image for A. CHEKHOV. Tri Sestry. First edition, Skt. Peterburg, 1901. #2

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Chekhov at his best

CHEKHOV, Anton Pavlovich

Tri Sestry. Drama v 4-kh deistviiakh [Three Sisters. A Drama in Four Acts]

A.F.Marks, Skt Peterburg, 1901.

First separate edition of this major play, very rare.

Image for E. ZAMIATIN. Litsa [Faces]. First edition, in Russian. New York, 1955 #2

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From the author of 'We'

ZAMIATIN, Evgenii [also ZAMYATIN]

Litsa [Faces]

Chekhov, Niu Iork, 1955.

First edition of these articles and memoirs by one of the great anti-Soviet writers.

Image for AKHMATOVA, Rekviem, Requiem, first edition, 1963 #2

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Celebrated poetical tamizdat

AKHMATOVA, Anna

Rekviem [Requiem]

L. Andrejeff for T-vo Zarubezhnikh izdanii, Miunkhen, 1963.

First edition of one of Akhmatova's greatest works.. An important tamizdat of one of the best Russian poets; one of 500 copies only.

Image for BULGAKOV, M. Master i Margarita, first edition. Paris, 1967. #2

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First edition of one of the greatest Russian novels

BULGAKOV, Mikhail

Master i Margarita [Master and Margarita]

J. Floch, Mayenne, for YMCA-PRESS, Paris, 1967.

Pleasant example, in the original wrappers, of the first edition of this amazing novel, one of the best ever written in Russia. Banned in Soviet Union.

Image for A. AKHMATOVA. Anno Domini. Peterburg, 1923. #2

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First appearance of new poems

AKHMATOVA, Anna

Anno Domini

Zinaburg, Berlin, for Petropolis and Alkonost, Peterburg, 1923 [printed in Oct. 1922].

Akhmatova's poetry during the Civil War, here in the first expanded edition.

Image for BUNIN, I. Pod otkrytym nebom [and] Stikhi i rasskazy. First editions, Moscow, 1898 and 1900. #1

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Inscribed by the future Nobel Prize

BUNIN, Ivan

Pod otkrytym nebom [bound with:] Stikhi i Rasskazy

[Under the Open Skies [bound with:] Poems and Short stories]

Kushnerov i Ko, Moskva and Rikhter, Moskva, 1898, 1900.

A lovely volume with two first editions, including one inscribed by Bunin. Both works are rarely found.

Image for N. CHERNISHEVSKII. Chto Delat? First book edition, Geneva, 1867. #2

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Women's emancipation, Lenin's reshaping, and "the emotional dynamic" of the Russian revolution

CHERNYSHEVSKII, Nikolai

Chto delat? Iz rasskazov o novykh liudiakh [What Is to Be Done? Tales of New People]

Elpidin, Zheneva for Benda, Vevey, 1867.

First book edition of this groundbreaking novel, a cornerstone of Russian literature and, by its influence, political thought. A pleasant example in contemporary binding. Very rare.

Image for NABOKOV, BLOK, TEFFI, REMIZOV etc. Rodnaia Zemlia. Complete first edition, 1920-21. #2

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Very early publication by Nabokov

[NABOKOV, Vladimir, A. BLOK, TEFFI, A. REMIZOV and others]

Rodnaia Zemlia, Sbornik 1-2 [The Native Land; First [and] Second Collection]

Up-To-Date Printing for Narodopravstvo, Niu Iork, 1920-21.

Possibly the earliest appearance of Nabokov in the West - together with several works many other important authors. A fine example in original wrappers.

Image for PASTERNAK, B. Doktor Zhivago. Ann Arbor, 1959. #3

Out of stock

The first edition in Russian after the Nobel Prize award

PASTERNAK, Boris

Doktor Zhivago [Doctor Zhivago]

The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 1959 [but December 1958].

First printing of the first "legal" Russian edition of this famous Nobel Prize winner. A lovely copy of Pasternak's masterpiece.

Image for DOSTOEVSKY, F. Besy [The Possessed]. First edition, in wrappers. St. Petersburg, 1873. #1

Out of stock

In superb original condition, with all wrappers

DOSTOEVSKY, Fedor Mikhailovich

Besy [The Devils, sometimes The Possessed or Demons]

Zamyslovskii for the author, Skt. Peterburg, 1873.

The best example we've handled of the first edition of this important Russian novel.

Image for TSVETAEVA, Lebedinyi Stan, first edition. Munich, 1957. #2

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The unpublishable finally published

TSVETAEVA, Marina Ivanovna

Lebedinyi stan [A Swans' Wedge. Poems from 1917-1921]

Einheit, Inh. I. Baschkirzew, Munchen, 1957.

First edition of this important cycle about the Revolution and the Civil War, impossible to publish in the USSR and even abroad for several decades. A very good copy.

Image for TOLSTOY, L. Recent Stories and Articles. First book edition, Berlin, 1894. #1

Out of stock

A Tolstoy rarity

TOLSTOY, Leo

Poslednie rasskazy i statii [Recent Stories and Articles]

Izdanie Bibliograficheskago Biuro, Berlin, 1894.

Tolstoy the Wise and the Experienced, here in a series of writings difficult to publish in full in Tsarist Russia. A very rare edition, here in its original wrappers.

Image for CHEKHOV, A.P. Povesti i razskazy. First book edition, Moscow, 1894. #2

Out of stock

Great copy with contemporary provenance

CHEKHOV, Anton Pavlovich

Povesti i razskazy [Novellas and Stories]

Sytin, Moskva, 1894.

Some of the best short stories of the great Russian author (such as 'The Black Monk'), here in an attractive example with fine bibliophilic provenance.

Image for TSVETAEVA, M. Stikhi k Bloku. First edition, Berlin, 1922. #2

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A great poetess to a great poet

TSVETAEVA, Marina Ivanovna

Stikhi k Bloku [Poems to Blok]

Kummer & Co. for Ogonki, Berlin, 1922.

Tsvetaeva's second poetry cycle published in exile, dedicated to a major Russian poet who died the year before, with the first publication of Tsvetaeva's 'Podruga' dedicated to Blok's lover. Lovely copy of this first edition.

Image for TSVETAEVA, M. Razluka, first edition. Berlin, 1922. #2

Out of stock

Exempt of any restoration

TSVETAEVA, Marina Ivanovna

Razluka [Separation]

Sinaburg & co. for Gelikon, Moskva - Berlin, 1922.

A very attractive example of this fragile production, Tsvetaeva's first poetry collection published abroad. First edition.

Image for TSVETAEVA, M. Versty. Second, expanded edition, Moscow, 1922. #2

Out of stock

With almost 3 times more poems

TSVETAEVA, Marina Ivanovna

Versty [Mileposts]

Tip. Iv. Fedorova for GIZ, Moskva, 1922.

Tsvetaeva's first post-war and post-Revolution collection of poetry, here in its most important edition.

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