From a missile site and political discussions to the coldest city in the world and "a little alcohol"

A Group of Four Confidential Reports of British, American and Australian Diplomats in Siberia and the Russian Far East
, July 21-27, 1960; February 12-22, 1962; August 29 - September 9 [c. 1965]; August 8-12 [c. 1965-67]. £1,250

About 40 pp. of fantastic and confidential reading giving a detailed and open description of Siberia during the USSR, to Irkutsk, Khabarovsk and Yakutsk. A rare find, apparently unpublished.

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Catherine the Great's first Gospels, attractively bound

[BIBLE, Slavonic] – Vailei IKONNIKOV (engraver) and Semen VTOROV (artist)

Evangelie [Gospels]
[Sinod. Tip.], Moskva, November 1762. £8,500

Very rare, with no copy traced outside Russia, and only two there. First separate edition of the Church Slavonic Gospels published under Catherine's reign, illustrated, complete and in a lovely, fragile velvet binding.

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From Sanskrit and Chinese, to Samaritan and Coptic

[TYPOGRAPHY]

Caratteri Orientali Esistenti nella Tipografia della R. Accad. dei Lincei
R. Accademia dei Lincei, Roma, 1889. £1,250

Extremely rare catalogue of oriental types used by the press of one of the most important scientific academy. In great condition - and only one other copy traced (in California).

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"It never belonged to Russia" and it was nice to be Polish

[UKRAINE – POLAND]

Lwów and the Lwów Region
Barnard and Westwood Ltd., London, for Polish Ministry of Preparatory Work Concerning the Peace Conference, May 1945. £1,450

May 1945: World War II comes to an end, the Soviet are in Poland and Ukraine. It is time for the anti-Soviet Polish exiled to lobby the world's powers to restructure Poland as they wish to - that is including all its former regions, such as Eastern Galicia and Lvyv... This booklet is their detailed argumentation, with a wealth of explanations and statistics, and three maps. A fascinating read. Scarce: only 3 copies traced in the US.

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No other set traced

N.B. [presumably Nikolai Alekseevich BOGATOV] and Vasilii PEROV (artists)

Russkie tipy [Russian types]
Kushnerev i Ko, Moskva, [ca. 1889]. £375

Lovely set of depictions of various peoples of the Rusisan empire, most probably published for the Paris 'Exposition Universelle'. Of great rarity, as we couldn't find any other example. With (most of) the original printed envelope.

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Glitter, colours and traditions

[OPERA COSTUMES IN UKRAINE AND AZERBAIJAN]

Collection of Costume Designs for Opera and Ballet
USSR, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, [1940s]. £3,950

From Ukraine to Azerbaijan: a rich and unusual group of watercolour costumes for various operas given in theatres of these countries.

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Drunk "very unhandsome" Circassian ladies and Russian mushrooms

[COLLINS, Samuel]

The Present State of Russia, in a Letter to a Friend at London, written by an eminent person residing at the great czars court at Mosco [sic] for the space of nine years
John Winter for Dorman Newman, London, 1671. £3,000

Great (if often negative) early account of pre-petrine Russia, with an important portrait of Tsar Alexei and a famous chapter on mushrooms - among many other remarks and anecdotes. Attractive example of the first edition.

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Siberian people in photography

GEKKER, Naum Leontevich [HECKER]

K kharakteristikie fizicheskago tipa iakutov : antropologicheskii ocherk. Zur Charakteristik des physischen Typus der Iakuten [On Characteristics of the Yakut Physical Type]
Irkutsk, Makushin, 1896. £3,500

A shot in the head, gold mining in Siberia, ethnography of the locals, and the use of photography: an interesting and unsual work on these people of deep Siberia. Scarce first edition of the original Russian, complete with its photographic plate.

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Authorised, but censored, with three pages in one

[HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund] Sigizmund GERBERSHTEIN and I. N. ANONIMOV (transl.)

Zapiski o Moskovii. (Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii) [Notes about Muscovy]
Bezobrazov i komp., Skt. Peterburg, 1866. £1,750

Finally available in Russia, more than 300 years after the first edition: this is the first book edition of Herberstein's groundbreaking travel account. A pleasant copy, with provenance, and showing a remarkable censor's afterthought, resulting in an interesting pagination feature.

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Fun, absurd, art and sport in the first years of the URSS

BABKIN K., M. NEKRASOV, A. ALEKSANDROV, V. SVETLISHIN and others

Nash Vestnik. Literaturno-sportivnyi zhurnal Kruzhka Fizicheskogo Razvitiia KFR [Our Newsletter. Literary and Sports Magazine of the Physical Development Club]
Vyshnii Volochek, Kruzhok Fizicheskogo Razvitiia KFR, 1921-23. £13,500

Exceptional manuscript describing sporting and other recreative activities in a small town of Russia immediately after the Civil War. A very entertaining read, mixing much information with humour and many illustrations.

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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.

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Reforming the laws of the empire

[LOPUKHIN, Prince Petr, and Nikolai NOVOSILTSEV]

Mémoire Presenté par le Ministère de la Justice Relativement à L'Organisation de la Comission des Lois [...] Suivi d'un Extrait des Rapports [...] sur les Travaux de Cette Commission. Première Partie [All published]
Jean Charles Schnoor, Saint Pétersbourg, 1804. £5,750

A fundamental work at the source of a clarification and homogenisation of the laws of the Russian empire at the turn of the 19th century. An excellent copy of this very rare publication: only one copy traced of this French issue of the first edition (Göttingen).

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Russian fascist printing in Shanghai

BUTMI, N.A

Tainyia Obshchestva i Iudei [Secret Societies and the Jews]
Shankhai, Izd-vo D. V. Otdela russkoi fashistskoi partii, January 1934. £475

Rare booklet of 'great Russian patriotism', covering one of the favorite themes of a part of the émigré community. Printed in China by Russians with Nazi sympathies.

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Impressive manuscript confirmation of nobility

RYNKIEWICZ, Efim and family

Certification of 'szlachta' (nobility) status for the family
Vilnius, 1819 and 1863. £5,950

Striking official documents in manuscript, related to the Rynkiewicz family and its nobility status, in Polish and Russian with fresh watercolour illustrations. A fine item of heraldry, very well preserved its red-morocco binding and large brass seal: rare so.

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Yalta's bay on a 1.5m panorama

MITKIN, Mikhail

Obshchii vid Ialty [General View of Yalta]
[Yalta, 1890s]. £8,500

Fine and scarce photographic view of the famous Crimean coastal town. In an attractive binding of the time.

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Faith in your pocket

[BIBLE, Russian]

Gospada Nashego Iisusa Khrista Sviatoe Evangelie ot Matfeia/Marka/Luki/Ioanna [Our Lord Jesus Christ's Holy Gospel of Matthew/Mark/Luke/John]
Sinodaln. Tip., Moskva, 1907-1909. £2,500

Appealing set of this first miniature edition of the Gospels in Russian, a typographic feat as the text is perfectly readable. Bound in full morocco and in excellent condition, from Vera Tishchenko's collection - a fine collector's provenance. Scarce outside Russia.

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La Marseillaise, European operas, and romantic Russian songs

[ROMANOV, Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich] – TSVETKOV M. and Vasilii KITAEV (artist)

Muzykalnyia stsenki. Popuri [Musical Sketches. Potpourri]
Skt. Peterburg, [8 November] 1888. £8,750

An interesting compilation of various international and Russian music, all manuscript, with a lovely watercolour title page and all kept in a refined master binding: a very attractive imperial portfolio made for the Grand Duke. Very rare.

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A censored work - in amazing condition

[WICHSELL, Jöran]

Beskrifning om Rysslands Belägenhet/ Gräntzor/ Landskaper/ Städer/ Styrelse/ Macht/ Plägseder och andra Beskaffenheter nu för tijden
Olao Enaeo, Stockholm, 1706. £2,950

An exceptionnal example, uncut, unopened and unbound, of a banned and later destroyed account of Peter the Great's Russia. First edition, rare.

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