Our Notes & References

An interesting Russian language textbook for German and French speakers, based on Karamzin’s newly published history of Russia. The excerpts chosen by Tappe from the original Russian text are here introduced by short titles in German and French and, for each excerpt, linguistic notes are added in these two languages. As the titles state: the “abridgement” was created “for the Benefit of the Youth and Students of the Russian Language, with Stress Marks, Explanation of Difficult Words and Sentences, in German and French Languages, and References to Grammar Rules”.

August Wilhelm Tappe (1778-1830) was a German pastor and translator who was invited to teach at Saint Peter’s School (Petrischule) in Saint Petersburg in 1810. He became famous for his efforts in popularising the Russian language abroad – as can be shown with this book, distributed in Riga, Leipzig, Strasburg, Paris and London. Tappe managed to write it during the long publication history of Karamzin’s opus magnum and it saw the light just after the publication of the first eight volumes of the History of the Russian State.

The volume was printed by somebody much interested in its subject matter and aim: the active Nikolai Grech (here Gretsch; 1787–1867), a grammarian, journalist, editor of magazines, and the author of the first Russian grammar textbook. The dedication – to Maria Fedorovna, mother of Tsar Alexander I and of German origin – is finely printed in very elegant kursiv type.

Tappe’s textbook became very popular and, according to some sources, it sold 3,000 copies in the first months of 1819. After Tappe returned to Germany in 1819, Grech republished the book in two parts in 1824.

Scarce: we could locate no complete copies at auctions in recent decades, in or outside Russia. OCLC locates only two holdings in the US (University of Wisconsin – Madison and Columbia), and one in the UK (University of Glasgow).

Attractive example of the first edition, uncut in bright orange wrappers. Like the copy kept in the Dresden library, this is the first part of the two published, covering general observations, notes on the peoples of the empire and its history up to the mid-15th century.

Provenance

Académie de Macon (France, library sold in 1981 to a Parisian dealer; stamps “Academie de Macon 1805” and “14499” to various places incl. front cover and German and Russian titles, stamp “Exclus des collections” inside front wrapper).

Bibliography

Cat. Russica K-258.