Search Results: Titles starting with R from PY Rare Books

Unusual and fascinating atlas of the famous German communities of the Russian empire
- 'Nemtsii' [Germans] possibly comming from 'nemyi' [mute] because these communities would speak only German, and hence not Russian with natives. (There is another, similar explanation: 'nemyi' would have described first all foreigners, but then narrowing down to Germans only during the 18th century.)
The text gives some interesting statistics while the atlas shows a general map, and more detailed maps of the regions of St. Petersburg, Saratov and Samara, and southern Ukraine (Odessa to Crimea).
A rare Russian imprint in German: apparently no copy in America and we could trace 5 copies in Europe (British Library, Royal Danish Library, and three in Germany: Berlin, Uni. Halle and Leipzig).
Description
Oblong folio (46 x 54 cm). Title and contents printed on upper blue wrappers, V pp. notes and tables, five lithograph maps hand-coloured in outline and numbered; only half of lower wrapper present, occasional light… Read More

First edition of this depiction of the Russian emigration in Berlin in the Golden Twenties - with a famous cover designed by Lissitzky, and some lovely examples of fine book design.
One of the key figures of Russian Formalism, the writer and literary critic Viktor Shklovskii (1893-1984), fearing arrest for opposing the bolsheviks, fled Russia in March 1922. He settled in Berlin where he lived at the "Zoo" [zoological garden] metro station, together with many of his fellow compatriots: this is the life he described in 'Zoo', portraying his friends-writers and artists as representatives of a certain kind of fauna, unaccustomed to life in Europe. Each letter's title is often an anecdotic story itself, such as the "Letter Five, which contains a description of Aleksei Mikhailovich Remizov, and his way of carrying water to the fourth floor in bottles. It also describes the life and manners of the great monkey order" (our translation).
In Berlin, Shklovskii was unrequitedly in love with the writer and… Read More

Attractive collection of 14 chromolithographs kept in their original envelope and depicting traditional Russian figures and their occupations, such as bird hunting, fox hunting, fishing, mushrooms picking and wheat harvest.
Bogatov (1854 - 1935), Russian artist and graphic, worked in lithography, as well as painting landscapes and portraits and creating illustrations for Russian classics and folklore.
ProvenanceAvenir Nizoff (émigré, pianist, who lived in Edmonton, Canada, in the second half of the 20th century, and gathered a very large library of Russian works of all kinds).

Description
14 chromolithographs, including 6 signed "N.B.", pasted on original cards with printed captions, kept in small paper sleeve; two slightly chipped, very light foxing on margins, covers of the sleeve split, with marginal tears. Overall dimensions: 16.5 x 11.4 cm.