With an important inscription by the "Apostle of Ossetia" (Gostieva)

CHEPIGOVSKII, Ivan Ivanovich

Xucav arxivani Ragondini cibir sijdæg istorja [A Concise Sacred History of the Church of God under the Old Testament]
Vladikavkaz, Z.I. Shuvalov, 1881. £3,750

First edition of this very first 'old testament' in Ossetian. A fine example, in wrappers and inscribed by the author to an important local missionary. Very rare, with only one other copy traced (Denmark).

Read More

Read More
Uzbekistan's famous river - on a 65 cm2 map

KAULBARS, Aleksandr Vasilevich

Drevneishiia rusla Amu-Dari [Ancient Beds of the Amu Darya River].

Imper. Akadem. Nauk, Skt. Peterbug, 1887. £650

First edition, very rare, of this geographical and historical study of the Western part of present-day Uzbekistan. Complete with its impressive map of the region.

Read More

Read More
Our friends the English

Angliia [England]
Obshchestvennaia Polza for Rodnoe Slovo, Moskva, 1914. £450

A lovely, illustrated booklet presenting England as an ally at the beginning of WWI. First edition, in appealing condition, from a reading library with the matching label - and very rare with no copies traced worlwide.

Read More

Read More
In manuscript of the highest quality

[MILITARY – WATERCOLOURS]

Mundiry Imperatorskoi Rossiiskoi Armii [Uniforms of the Imperial Russian Army]
[Skt. Peterburg, 1850s]. £8,500

Superb set of very rare military tables in fine manuscript and gouache with gold and silver highlights. Of probable imperial provenance.

Read More

Read More
Elaborate and rare lithographed Armenian calligraphy

PALCHEAN, Agheksandr

Vayelchʻagrutʻiwn [Beautiful Writing; ie. Calligraphy]
Vienna, Alois Leykum for Mkhit'areants', 1838. £3,950

Attractive volume showing fine Armenian calligraphy made to celebrate the new Armenian monastery in Vienna - to be built when the book was published. Very rare edition, with no copies traced in Armenia nor the Americas.

Read More

Read More
"[One of the] pioneer female travelers to Georgia" (Skinner)

KEUN, Odette

Prince Tariel: A Story of Georgia
Jonathan Cape, London, 1925. £1,750

Suppressed and very rare first edition of this novel, written by an adventurous woman travelling in troubled times. Great book by a fascinating woman and a nice copy of it!

Read More

Read More
Dali's copy - with all copper plates and the book's maquette

[DALI] – ARRABAL, Fernando and Julius BALTAZAR [pseud. for Hervé LAMBION] (artist)

Cinco sonetos
Imprimerie Moderne de la Presse for André Biren, Paris, 1980. £4,250

Excellent, unique copy of this rare livre d'artiste, warmly inscribed to Dali, with much added material and in a fine Leroux binding. "Let us suppress all the excesses / murderers tyrants and alligators" (colophon)

Read More

Read More
Avant-garde women producing a rare children book

SINIAKOVA, M[ariia] (artist) and S[ofia] FEDORCHENKO

Dobryi son [Kind Dream/Nice Sleep]
Gos. izd., Moskva, 1930. £1,250

Very rare first edition of this children book: no copies traced outside Russia. A fine collaboration of two women active in circles of the Russian avant-garde.

Read More

Read More
First in her native language - at last

REND, Ain [Ayn RAND; pseud. for Alisa ROZENBAUM] and D[mitrii] KOSTYGIN (translator)

Istochnik [The Source; ie. The Fountainhead in Russian translation]
Assotsiatsiia biznesmenov Peterburga, Skt. Peterburg, 1995. £3,750

Very rare first edition of 'The Fountainhead' in Rand's native language, Russian. No copies traced at auction, even in Russia; only two in libraries, none in America. A beautiful example.

Read More

Read More
Two women at work to celebrate Mother

LIUBAVINA, Nadezhda Ivanova (artist) and Sofiia DUBNOVA

Mat [Mother]
Petrograd, Segodnia, 1918. £2,250

Fine Russian children book from the avant-garde publisher, here in the preferred version with original hand-colour: one of only 125 copies.

Read More

Read More
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.

Read More

Read More
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).

Read More

Read More
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.

Read More

Read More
Read to Paul I at the French Academy in Paris

LAGARP and SEN-LAMBERT [LA HARPE, Jean-François de, and Jean-François de SAINT-LAMBERT]

Poslanie Lagarpa k grafu Andreiu Petrovichu Shuvalovu, o deistviiakh selskoi prirody i o poezii opisatelnoi. S prisovokupleniem razsuzhdenii o sem rode poezii.. [La Harpe's Epistle to Count Andrei Petrovich Shuvalov, about the Effects of Rural Nature and about Descriptive Poetry. With the Addition of Reflections on this Kind of Poetry]
Vsevolozhskii, Moskva, 1817. £1,150

Fine example, uncut, with wrappers, and with bibliophile provenance, of this text of literary criticism written for, and dedicated to, Count Shuvalov by one of the major French writers of the time. Rare, with no copy traced on the market in recent decades (including in Russia).

Read More

Read More
Extremely rare - with Russian America and its islands

EINERLING, Ivan Fedorovich

Uchebnyi atlas drevnei i novoi Rossii [Atlas of the Ancient and Modern Russia for Schools]
Voenno-tip. depo, Skt. Peterburg, [1838-1844]. £6,750

Very rare small-format school atlas showing the development of the Russian Empire during 1000 years, and its extent at its height. With original hand-colour. No other physical copies traced, including in Russia.

Read More

Read More
The American Civil War for a Russian audience

VIGO ROUSSILLON, Francois-Paul, trans. Stankevich and Vitmer

Voennye sily Severo-Amerikanskikh Shtatov. Voina za nerazdelnost Soiuza (1861 - 1865) [The Military Forces of the North American States. War for the Integrity of the Union 1861-1865]
Skt. Peterburg, [Published with the support of the Military-Scientific Committee of the General Staff], 1868. £2,950

Exceedingly rare first book in Russian dealing with the American Civil War, illustrated with large folding maps. Apparently no copy in the USA of this first edition, only one outside Russia (in Rome).

Read More

Read More
Russian verses at the Swedish court - in transliteration

[SPARWENFELD, Johan Gabriel]

Placzewnaja recz na pogrebenie […] ghossudarja Karolusa odinatsetogho [Oration in Russian on the Occasion of the Death of Charles XI of Sweden]
Stokoln [Stockholm], 1697. £4,750

An extremely rare and very intriguing publication, mixing Russian language, Latin types and Swedish political agenda at the end of the 17th century - just before the wars of Peter the Great and Charles XII. Apparently no copy in Russia; this being the second or third copy traced. A fine example.

Read More

Read More
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.

Read More

Read More
do you have a question about this item?

If you would like more information on this item, or if you have a similar item you would like to know more about, please contact us via the short form here.

    X