Search Results: Titles starting with S from PY Rare Books

Bound with the first Russian editions of:
SERION, Anna [SEURON].Shest let v dome grafa Lva Nikolaievicha Tolstogo[Six Years at the Household of the Count Tolstoy. Trans. from German by S. Sergiievskii]. Tip.-lit. Minkova, Skt Peterburg, 1895
[AND OF:]
TOLSTOY, Lev and Nadezhda ZHIVAGO (artist).Assiriiskii tsar Assarkhadon. Tri voprosa [The Assyrian King Assarkhadon. Three questions]. Tip.-lit. Kushnerev, Moskva, [1903].
Attractive Sammelband of works by and about Tolstoy, most in first Russian editions, including one illustrated by Nadezhda Zhivago.
Full notice available upon request
ProvenanceSir Isaac Shoenberg (1880-1963, a British electronic engineer of Belarus descent best known for his contribution to the development of the first fully electronic television system); by descent, the scholar Peter Gatrell and his wife Jane; acquired directly from their estate.
DescriptionThree works in one vol. 8vo (20 x 14 cm; Palkin smaller: block 18.5 x 11.5 cm). Palkin: 29 pp. inc. title, [3] pp. publisher's… Read More

An important study of central Siberia, containing extensive geological research into the vast territory from Lake Baikal towards the Arctic ocean.
Alexander Chekanovsky (1832-76) was of Polish origin. A geologist, ethnographer and researcher, he took part in the 1863 Polish uprising and, as a result, was exiled to Siberia. He took this as an opportunity to continue his scientific work. With the help and influence of Friedrich Schmidt - who wrote the preface of this Diary - Chekanovsky was transferred to Irkutsk and appointed to the Siberian Division of the Geographical Society in 1867. While in Irkutsk, he made several scientific discoveries which brought him fame in Russia, until his early death aged 44.
Published some 20 years after his death, this Diary is actually composed of several diaries, describing expeditions and observations on the three main rivers of the Central Siberian Plateau, where Chekanovsky discovered a ridge, eventually named after him: the Chekanovsky Ridge, in the Lena delta in… Read More

With the "progressive conquest of Siberia", up to Alaska.
An early, large format publication, produced in St. Petersburg and which intends, in a very didactic way, to familiarize European readers with the history, geography, population, structure and economy of the Russian empire possibly at the height of its power, during Pushkin's Golden Age.
After a brief history of the Russian Empire covering the period from 862 until the beginning of the reign of Nicolas I (1796 - 1855), the work shows a genealogical table of the ruling dynasties. In the present example, the letterpressed Romanov's dynasty tree, ending with the name Alexander II, is expanded with manuscript notes of a 19th century reader, who updated it with the names of the spouse of Alexander II and their children.
The large double-page tables and maps include a wealth of information on Russian geography, flora, fauna, trade, peoples etc.
Of special note are the insets on the Don Cossacks, Georgia, Caucasus and the American colonies. A large… Read More

A fresh and uncut copy of the first edition of this rare, early, and illustrated account of Siberia and the Chinese border, unusually describing the second British mission in Russia and highly praised by contemporaries.During the winter 1823-24 Martos undertook a trip around Baikal from Krasnoiarsk to Maimachyn, a Chinese border town. In his book, written in the form of a diary, Martos provides a picturesque description of nature, life and culture in Eastern Siberia, populated predominantly with Buriats. Visiting salt, porcelain and fabrics factories the author witnessed the development of production and trade in the region. Martos focuses in particular on Irkutsk, giving not only statistical information on the city but also detailing its founding and further development. To Martos's own surprise he discovered a British mission in Seleginsk, a village on Eastern side of the Baikal, in the heart of Chinggis Khan's Motherland. It was formed by an Englishman and two Scottish with their… Read More

A rich, detailed account of the Amur region in the Russian Far East, describing its history, geology, topography, climate, flora and fauna, as well as the economics and ethnography of the region.
Franz Shperk (1835-1906) came from a medical family, and became a doctor and naturalist himself, like his two brothers, Eduard and Gustav. Upon graduation from the Medical University in Kharkov (nowadays Ukraine), Franz was appointed a district doctor in the city of Olekminsk, on the other side of the empire, in the Yakutsk region. While working as a doctor there from 1867 to 1875, Shperk also followed his passion as a naturalist and studied the geography, ethnography, history, anthropology and climatology of the region. He conducted detailed observations during these nine years, such as measuring the air temperature three times a day and the water level in the Amur river. His research resulted in the present publication for which he received a Silver Medal from the Russian Geographical Society. Shperk left… Read More

FIRST EDITION OF THE FIRST BOOK OF FATHER IAKINF, CALLED LATER "THE FATHER OF RUSSIAN SINOLOGY". Bichurin (1777-1853), here writing under his monastic name Iakinf, was named in 1805 leader of the 9th Russian Mission to Peking and head of the Sretenskii monastery in this town. During his 14-year stay he learnt Chinese, compiled his own dictionary and prepared other scholar works for later publication. He returned to Saint Petersburg in 1821: the first part of these Zapiski contains a detailed travel account of Iakinf's journey from Pekin to the Russian border town Kiakhta, including descriptions of the Great Wall, of the cities of Kalgan (Zhangjiakou) and Urga (Ulan Bator), the Gobi desert etc.
The three other parts are entirely devoted to Mongolia, then under Chinese rule: its geography, political system, climate, trade, population (its structure, fashion and customs). Bichurin gives a sketch of the history of Mongols, as well as of the legal system used by China to rule the region. The… Read More

First edition, very rare: OCLC locates the Harvard copy only.
Nikolai Protasov (1865–1903), an active member of the Eastern Siberian section of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, was the first to go about a proper collection of the folk-songs of Siberia. In 1901 he recorded, on a phonograph, almost 150 songs, writing some of them out in notation. It is twenty of these songs which are published here as indicated in the long title: "From [the songs] collected in 1900 in the province of Irkutsk and the Transbaikal region by Nikolai Protasov. Arranged by Aleksei Petrov. Published … by the Song Commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society".Protasov's complete collection did not appear in his lifetime, and it has even been suggested that he burned his manuscripts in despair at not being able to see his work in print.
According to the preface, it was thanks to Rimsky-Korsakov that these songs appeared at all. He gave them to the Commission set up by the Tsar in 1897 to collect Russian… Read More

Fine copy of this uncommon issue devoted to the USSR, to 'Russia, Russia, Russia', aiming at detailing for the American public still suffering from the 1929 crisis all aspects of Stalinist USSR in the early 1930s. Richly illustrated, the account is wide-ranging, lively and slightly ironic from time to time - of great interest for those interested in the Western view of the USSR at that time. Interestingly, while it reports on Communist USSR, the very capitalist magazine is filled with numerous American advertisements triggering consumption - a sharp contrast!
With a striking front cover by Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo's husband and well-known Communist fresco painter.
DescriptionFolio (35.3 x 29 cm). 148 pp. with many illustrations, some in colour.BindingOriginal wrappers printed in colour after Riviera.ConditionSlightly rubbed to extremities, otherwise in appealing condition.

Fine example of the first edition of this celebrated artist's work, with the famous cover in fine condition.
In 1920, Altman was invited to the Kremlin to create a bronze portrait of Vladimir Lenin. To complete this task, he spent about six weeks with the Bolsheviks' leader, sketching his face and daily routine movements, such as sitting at the desk, reading, speaking on the phone and during meetings - apparently, Lenin did not have time or patience to deliberately pose for the portrait otherwise.The best sketches in preparation of the bronze bust eventually formed this booklet in which Lenin's facsimile signature is followed by ten reproductions of Altman's sketches: nine portraits and a view seen from the window of Lenin's office; each drawing is signed and dated "Nat. Altman, Moscow – Kremlin, May 1920". All the sketches are rendered in realist style, unusual for Altman's 1920s art which manifests itself in his design of the suprematist cover - a fine example of Soviet avant-garde book art.
Born… Read More