Very rare books Keywords

First in Yiddish - inscribed

SHAKESPEARE, William and I. GOLDBERG (translator)

Romeo un Zshulyete: tragedya in finf aktn [Romeo and Juliet: the Tragedy in Five Acts]

£2,950

SHAKESPEARE, William and I. GOLDBERG (translator), Romeo un Zshulyete: tragedya in finf aktn

Lovely example of a rare book: the first 'Romeo and Juliette' published in Yiddish, here in fine condition and inscribed by the translator to a famous Yiddish author and professor.

Image for STANISLAVSKII, K. Photograph inscribed. Moscow, 1911. #2

Chekhov's innovative director

STANISLAVSKII, Konstantin Sergeevich

Cabinet photograph signed to Andrei Pavlovich Petrovskii

£3,750

STANISLAVSKII, Konstantin Sergeevich, Cabinet photograph signed to Andrei Pavlovich Petrovskii

Excellent photograph of the famous director, beautifully inscribed to a fellow man of theatre.

Image for TILLO, A. Opisanie Aralo-Kaspiiskoi nivellirovki. First edition, Skt. Peterburg, 1877 #2

Which one is higher?

TILLO, Aleksei

Opisanie Aralo-Kaspiiskoi nivellirovki proizvedennoi v 1874 godu [Description of the Aral-Caspian Levelling Conducted in 1874]

£1,950

TILLO, Aleksei, Opisanie Aralo-Kaspiiskoi nivellirovki proizvedennoi v 1874 godu

Scarce scientific work with detailed maps of the area between the two seas, now in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Image for MEYER & VELTEN, Vues pittoresques des palais et jardins impériaux...de Saint Pétersbourg. St. Petersburg, 1850s. #2

In stunning colour

MEYER J[ohann Jacob] (artist)

Vues pittoresques des palais et jardins impériaux aux Environs de St. Pétersbourg

£65,000

MEYER J[ohann Jacob] (artist), Vues pittoresques des palais et jardins impériaux aux Environs de St. Pétersbourg

One of the best plate books on St. Petersburg, here in a fantastic example in excellent contemporary hand-colour. Beautiful and very rare.

Image for GERNING, SCHÜTZ & MORA. Viage pintoresco por las orillas del Rin. First edition in Spanish, London, 1826. #2

British aquatints of the Rhine for South Americans

[GERNING] – SCHÜTZ, Christian Georg (artist) and Jose Joaquin MORA

Viage pintoresco por las orillas del Rin, desde Maguncia hasta colonia

£7,500

[GERNING] - SCHÜTZ, Christian Georg (artist) and Jose Joaquin MORA, Viage pintoresco por las orillas del Rin, desde Maguncia hasta colonia

Exceptionally rare edition in Spanish of one of the most successful illustrated books of the time, specifically conceived for the South American market. A beautiful copy.

German populations in Ukraine and Russia

Atlas der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen [sic] in Russland

£1,850

, Atlas der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Gemeinen [sic] in Russland

The Russian Germans mapped: very rare early statistical atlas of these famous communities.

Image for Tablettes chronologiques de la Monarchie de Russie. Manuscrit, ca. 1785. #1

Manuscript history in your pocket

[BARRIÉRA]

Tablettes chronologiques de la Monarchie de Russie

£3,950

[BARRIÉRA], Tablettes chronologiques de la Monarchie de Russie

A lovely manuscript booklet finely bound, showing all important events of Russia's history up to 1784 - very unusual, attractive and informative, possibly connected to Tsar Nicholas I.

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

Rare Russian fables from Ukraine

NAKHIMOV, Akim Nikolaevich

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

£1,250

NAKHIMOV, Akim Nikolaevich, Sochineniia v stikhakh i proze

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 MONTESQIEU, Ch. Lettres persanes in Russian. Skt. Peterburg, 1792. #2

French enlightenment in Russia

MONTESKE [MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de]

Pisma persidskiia [Lettres persanes] [Persian Letters]

£3,750

MONTESKE [MONTESQUIEU, Charles Louis de], Pisma persidskiia [Lettres persanes]

Rare first illustrated edition of the 'Lettres persanes' in Russian, in contemporary binding with lovely Russian endpapers.

Image for Watercolour portrait of Hadji Murat. Tbilisi, 1852. #1

Contemporary portrait

French school of the 19^th century

Portrait de Hadji Mourad

£4,750

French school of the 19^th century, Portrait de Hadji Mourad

Extremely rare contemporary portrait of a famous Caucasian rebel - described by Gagarin and Tolstoy.

Image for D.H. LAWRENCE, first edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover in Russian, Berlin, 1932 #2

In the publisher's wrappers

LORENS, D. G. [D. H. LAWRENCE] and Tatiana LESHCHENKO (transl.)

Liubovnik ledi Chatterlei [Lady Chatterley's Lover]

£3,950

LORENS, D. G. [D. H. LAWRENCE] and Tatiana LESHCHENKO (transl.), Liubovnik ledi Chatterlei

First edition in Russian of Lawrence's famous scandalous work, banned in the UK, USA and Soviet Union. An early translation by a talented Russian woman who went from Moscow to New York and to the GULAG, and inspired Solzhenitsyn. Very rare: no copy in Russian libraries, none in the UK, only two traced in WorldCat (Princeton and Syracuse).

Image for Ukrainian literary almanac, Lervak, first edition, 1852 #2

Literary identity in Western Ukraine

Pavel LEONTOVICH and others

Lervak z nad Siana

£4,500

Pavel LEONTOVICH and others, Lervak z nad Siana

An extremely rare and fascinating book related to the national identity of Western Ukraine, through language and literature.

Image for Fletcher, Of the Russe Commonwealth, first Russian book edition, very rare. Geneva, Kasatkin, 1867. #1

Banned Russian edition of a banned English book

FLETCHER, Dzhails [Giles]

O gosudarstve russkom, ili Obraz pravleniia russkago tsaria (obyknovenno nazyvaemago tsarem moskovskim). S opisaniiem nravov i obychaev zhitelei etoi strany [Of the Rvsse Common Wealth: Of the Russian State, or the Manner of Government of the Russian Emperor]

£6,750

FLETCHER, Dzhails [Giles], O gosudarstve russkom, ili Obraz pravleniia russkago tsaria (obyknovenno nazyvaemago tsarem moskovskim). S opisaniiem nravov i obychaev zhitelei etoi strany

First Russian book edition -banned- of Fletcher's famous -and banned- description of Russia which first appeared in 1591. A very rare edition, printed in Geneva by Russian revolutionaries, in a fine, fresh example.

Image for SKRINNIKOV, The Science of the Horse, very rare first edition, in Russian, Warsaw, 1866-67 #2

How to understand horses: no copy traced

SKRINNIKOV, Mikhail

Ippologiia, ili Nauka o loshadi. Chast I-II [Hippology, or The Science of the Horse. Parts I-II].

£1,950

SKRINNIKOV, Mikhail, Ippologiia, ili Nauka o loshadi. Chast I-II

First edition of this influential Russian work on horse education and hippiatry, illustrated with 3 plates. Very rare: no copy traced on the market nor in libraries.

Image for Kampe and Shishkov, Detskaia biblioteka, Skt. Peterburg, 1799-1800 #1

Important early book for Russian children - with a sewn translation label

KAMPE [CAMPE, Joachim Heinrich; and Aleksandr Semenovich SHISHKOV, translator]

Detskaia biblioteka, izdannaia na nemetskom iazyke gospodinom Kampe, a s onago perevedena g. *** [Children's library [ie. Kleine Kinderbibliothek], published in German by Mr. Campe, and translated by M. ***].

£3,950

KAMPE [CAMPE, Joachim Heinrich; and Aleksandr Semenovich SHISHKOV, translator], Detskaia biblioteka, izdannaia na nemetskom iazyke gospodinom Kampe, a s onago perevedena g. ***

More than a translation, an original adaptation, dedicated to Princess Dahskova, the first woman head of an Academy of Sciences and first female member of the American Philosophical Society. A very rare early edition of this important book for Russian children - and a lovely example with a sewn translation label!

Image for Chagall's first book, first edition of his only children book, 1917 #1

Chagall's first book and a landmark of Yiddish book illustration.

CHAGALL, Marc (artist) and Der NISTER [pseud. for Pinchus KAHANOVICH]

A Mayse mit a Hon; Dos Tsigele [A Story About a Rooster [and] The Little Kid]

£22,500

CHAGALL, Marc (artist) and Der NISTER [pseud. for Pinchus KAHANOVICH], A Mayse mit a Hon; Dos Tsigele

Chagall's first illustrated book, his only children book, and a landmark of Yiddish book illustration, published the year of the Russian revolution. Very rare, especially in this very good condition: about 5 other copies known.

Image for FIDLER, Slovo...Borisu Fedorovichu Godunovu, St. Petersburg, 1773. First edition, with provenance. #2

From Catherine the Great's library

FIDLER, Konstantin [also FIEDLER]

Slovo pokhvalnoe velikomu gosudariu Borisu Fedorovichu Godunovu [Eulogy to the Great Tsar Boris Fedorovich Godunov]

£5,750

FIDLER, Konstantin [also FIEDLER], Slovo pokhvalnoe velikomu gosudariu Borisu Fedorovichu Godunovu

Very rare first edition in Russian of this praise of Boris Godunov, with great and unusual provenance: Catherine the Great and Smirdin's famous lending library. A lovely example.

Image for Geier, Tashkent to Gava, Russian Central Asia, first edition, inscribed #1

The Great Game and Central Asian walnuts

GEIER, Ivan Ivanovich

Ot Tashkenta do Gavy [From Tashkent to Gava]

£1,950

GEIER, Ivan Ivanovich, Ot Tashkenta do Gavy

A lovely association copy, inscribed by the author to an important Russain official in Turkestan, of a very rare travel account in the heart of Russian Central Asia. An early Uzbek publication containing fascinating details on the economy of the region, especially in the Fergana valley in the Arslanbob mountains, famous for its important walnut forest.

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