Watercolours & Original drawings

Image for [RUSSIAN ARMY] Mundiry Imperatorskoi Rossiiskoi Armii. Five manuscript sheets. St. Petersburg, 1850s. #3

In manuscript of the highest quality

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.

Image for ARRABAL & BALTAZAR. Cinco Sonetos. First edition, inscribed to Dali, with supplementary material. Paris, 1980. #2

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)

Image for OPERA & COSTUMES. A Collection of Costume designs. 1940s #2

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.

Image for NASH VESTNIK. Manuscript magazine, unique copy. Soviet Union, 1921-23. #2

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.

Image for Gd Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich ROMANOV. Musical Sketches, Potpurri. Manuscript, 1888. #2

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.

Image for Watercolour portrait of Hadji Murat. Tbilisi, 1852. #2

Contemporary portrait

French school of the 19^th century

Portrait de Hadji Mourad

Tiflis, 30 January 1852. £4,750

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

Image for [OLD BELIEVERS]. Tsvetnik [Florilegium]. Illustrated manuscript, Russian Empire, 1760s. #2

Out of stock

Spectacular Passion and Apocalypse - with exorcism, "Ethiopians" and Andrew the Fool

[OLD BELIEVERS]

Tsvetnik [Florilegium]

[Russian empire, 1760s].

A stunning Church Slavonic manuscript, with a suprising wealth of striking watercolours illustrating wide-ranging religious texts, and an intersting style incorporating West-European features. Datable to the 1760s - rare.

Image for Old Believers' manuscript Sinodik, Russia, late 18th/early 19th century. #2

Out of stock

More than 120 full-page watercolours for some great edifying stories

[OLD BELIEVERS]

[Sinodik]

[Russian Empire, late 18th-early 19th-century].

The Afterllife and its wonders in original watercolours: a wealthy visual catalogue for Russian Old Believers, remarkable for the large quantity of full-page images - one on every leaf.

Image for RYNKIEWICZ Family. Ms. documents for its 'szlachta' status. Vilnius, 1819 & 1863. In fine binding with brass seal. #1

Out of stock

Impressive manuscript confirmation of nobility

RYNKIEWICZ, Efim and family

Certification of 'szlachta' (nobility) status for the family

Vilnius, 1819 and 1863.

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.

Image for OLD BELIEVERS. Zhitie...Vasiliia. Slavonic manuscript, Western Russia, late 18th century. #2

Out of stock

After-death trials with demons in vivid colours

[OLD BELIEVERS]

Zhitie prepodobnago ottsa nashego Vasiliia novago spisannoe Grigoriiem ouchenikom ego [Life of Our Father Basil the Younger recounted by his Student Gregory]

[Western Russia, late 18th century].

Beautiful, richly illustrated Old-Believer manuscript, with an unusual style and unusual pinholes in the images. A fine item in its first binding.

Image for [OLD BELIEVERS] - MIATELKOV, F.P. Sviattsy. Manuscript dated 1887. Complete #2

Out of stock

Finely handwritten and illuminated by a "peasant scribe and artist"

[OLD BELIEVERS] – MIATELKOV, Fedor Petrovich

Sviattsy [Religious Almanac]

Vasilevo-Slobodskaia, Nizhegorod. gub., 1887.

Complete with bold miniatures and ornaments: a fine Old-Believer manuscript, signed by the scribe and artist. With contemporary provenance.

Image for Laudy, Dessins aquarelles des uniformes de la Garde de Napoleon et Regiments de la Ligne, 2 volumes #1

Out of stock

Napoleon's stay at Waterloo's farm

LAUDY, Lucien

Drawings of Napoleon's Imperial Guard AND Regiments of the Line

[?Waterloo, 1909-11].

More than 60 watercolours of Napoleonic uniforms, drawn by a Nopoleon fan who initiated a museum in the house where Napoleon stayed before the final battle of Waterloo. An historical object, finely bound.

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