French enlightenment in Russia
Publication: Shnor, Sankt Peterburg, 1792.
Rare first illustrated edition of the ‘Lettres persanes’ in Russian, in contemporary binding with lovely Russian endpapers.
£3,750
In stock
A masterpiece of French Enlightenment in Catherine’s Russia: very rare early translation of Montesquieu, the first illustrated.
Completed in 1721, this important piece of French literature recounts in 161 letters the experiences of two Persian noblemen, Usbek and Rica, as they travel through France between 1712 and 1720. The two protagonists write to friends and mullahs commenting on numerous aspects of western Christian society, particularly French politics and the Moors, ending with a biting satire of the system of John Law. The work therefore provides a subtle critique of the Ancien Régime, disguised as the observations of naive foreigners.
The Lettres persanes was an immediate success and has since been frequently reedited and imitated. In Russia, the text circulated widely among upper classes, but it was available only in the original French or in other western European languages. The first complete Russian translation, by Fiodor Pospelov, was published in 1789, without any illustration, after a few extracts had appeared in 1782. This was followed closely by the present edition, with the text newly translated by the retired collegiate councillor Efim Roznotovskii (1737–92). Interestingly and paradoxically, both editions appeared during the heights of the French Revolution, which prompted in Catherine’s Russia some clampdown on free-thought – the 1789 edition being even published by the State Academy of Sciences! There will not be any further edition in the 18th century.
It is illustrated, on the title page, by an interpretation of Dassier’s famous profile of Montesquieu, captioned with the author’s name in Russian. It was engraved by Johann Christoph Nabholz (1752-c. 1796), a German artist who then lived in St. Petersburg and produced many portraits of the aristocracy. This portrait was not included in the extensive study Portraits de Montesquieu. Répertoire analytique by A. Ehrard (Presses universitaires Blaise Pascal, Clermont-Ferrand, 2014).
Very rare. WorldCat locates only two copies, in the libraries of Harvard and Cambridge Universities, while Svod. Kat. mentions 5 copies in Russian libraries.
Bibliography
Obolian. p.632, #264 (“Persidskiia pesni”!!); Sopikov 6303; Svod. Kat. XVIII 4334 (illustrated); the portrait not mentioned in Rovinskii, Slovar Russ. Graverov, 461-64.
Item number
2006
Two parts in a vol. small 8vo (19 x 11.5 cm). Title with portrait of Montesquieu engraved by I.K. Nabholz, and 563 pp.
Binding
Contemporary Russian calf, black and red morocco label to spine lettered in blind, contemporary Russian patterned ‘zig-zag’ endpapers.
Condition
Binding rubbed and worn, block a bit shaken but solid; some small marginal repairs to leaves, small loss of text (1-2 letters) partly restored in contemporary writing on pp. 131-132, 134, 511-514, corners of pp. 497-498 and 563-564 torn off not affecting text, occasional contemporary inscriptions, one in different hand from 1935 to upper fly leaf.
Excellent photograph of the famous director, beautifully inscribed to a fellow man of theatre.
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