Russian Antiquarian Books

www.bookvica.ru (Russian-language site)

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The London International Antiquarian Book Fair Olympia 22- 24 May, 2014

Pavel Chepyzhov is an antiquarian bookseller based in Moscow. He is a member of ILAB and the Russian Guild of Antiquarian Booksellers. As this is his debut at western fairs, he hopes you will forgive any flaws in this catalogue and concentrate on the books themselves. This list is an attempt to present some interesting Russian books to a western audience. Some of them are remarkable world-renowned texts like Chto delat? [What is to be done?] (First Edition) and Anna Karenina (first appearance in print). Some are almost unknown to the western public: books on the English and American Classics written or translated by Russians; or the first Russian appearances of well-known western milestones such as On the Origin of species (first and “alternative first” Russian editions). The catalogue is split into six sections. All the books on the list are in Russian.

2 Science and the History of Thought

[1] [MENDELEEV ON CHEMICAL SOLUTIONS - SIGNED COPY]. Mendeleev, D. Issledovanie vodnih rasstvorov po udelnomu vesu [Study of Aqueous Solutions from their Specific Gravity]. St Petersburg: V. Demakov, 1887. XXII, 520, [1] pp. 8vo. Original cloth with the title in gilt on the spine. Endpapers renewed. Occasional staining at the start and end of the book. This copy is signed to a friend and a chess partner of Dmitry Mendeleev’s, Anton Ivanovich Skander, an engineer (see Mendeleeva A. I. Mendeleev v zhizni [Mendeleev in life]. Moscow, 1928).

Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907), one of the most celebrated Russian scientists, is best known for his formulation of Periodic Law and creating the periodic table of elements that was revolutionary for the time. He was particularly active in different fields of chemistry. As he said in 1905: “There were four things that gave me a name in science – my periodic table, study of elasticity of gases, understanding ‘solutions as associations’ and Osnovy himii [The Fundamentals of Chemistry].” Mendeleev began by studying chemical solutions in his thesis, Udelnie Obyemi (1856) [Specific Volumes].

But he set forth his views on the nature of solutions in this monograph, Study of Aqueous Solutions from their Specific Gravity (1887), which contains a vast quantity of

3 experimental data. According to Mendeleev, solutions are liquid systems in a state of dissociation. These systems consist of molecules of the solvent and solute and of the products of their interaction—unstable chemical compounds. On diagrams showing the dependence between the composition and the derivative of the density with respect to the composition (that is, the maximum ratio of increase in density to increase in composition), Mendeleev found breaks corresponding to the formation of chemical compounds. Much later (from 1912) N. S. Kurnakov, proceeding from Mendeleev’s ideas, created the theory of singular points of chemical diagrams. In his work on chemical solutions, Mendeleev anticipated the theory of hydration (and, in general, solvation) of ions. Mendeleev’s ideas about the chemical interaction between the components of a solution contributed significantly to the development of the modern theory of solutions.

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[2] [MENDELEEV, THE ECONOMIST] Mendeleev, Dmitry. Ob usloviyah razvitiya zavodskogo dela v Rossii [On the Conditions of Developing Industry in Russia]. St Petersburg: A.S. Suvorin, 1882. 52pp. 8vo. Original wrappers. Good condition. Water stain in the lower part of title-page and two following leaves.

Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) was not only a leading scientist in his field, but also the author of several works concerning Russian industry. This is his first such work.

4 In the context of Russia’s rapid industrial growth in the 1880s, and having been brought up among the factories of Siberia, Mendeleev sought to encourage industrial development and to promote public interest in the subject.

Mendeleev wrote, “I have seen enough to know how little we did in terms of managing our factories rightly. They are significant for the people, so the organisatIon of the industrial process is pivotal.”

This work, along with the other essays on industrial problems written by Mendeleev in the 1880s, was one of the phenomena that prompted the decree by Emperor Alexander III (1845-1894) to the Minister of Finance, I. A. Vishegradsky, to undertake a general revision of the customs tariff to bring it into proper alignment with the needs of modern industry, thus comprehensively revitalizing it.

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[3] [FIRST RUSSIAN ORIGIN OF SPECIES] Darwin, Charles. O Proischozhdenii Vidov... [On the Origin of Species] / Perevel s anglijskago (translated from English by) S. A. Rachinsky. St Peterburg: Glazunov, 1864. 8vo. Bound in modern half-leather. Some foxing. Otherwise a good copy. XIV, 399, [1] pp. + 4 pp. of advertisements + 1 plate. Very rare in the West.

5 The earliest references to Darwin’s theory in Russian periodicals appeared in 1861, but this book was the first by Darwin to be printed in Russian translation and it sold out within a year (1200 copies). This first edition was followed the next year by a second and it went through five further editions in the XIXth century.

In Russia, Darwinism had a profound influence not only on the different sciences, but also on philosophy, economic and political thought, and the great literature of the period. Both Tolstoy and Dostoevsky referenced Darwin in their most important works, as did numerous other thinkers of the period.

Sergey Rachinsky, professor of plant physiology at St Petersburg University, began translating the Origin in 1862 and wrote an important article on the theories presented in it while working on the translation. The article and this translation of the Origin into Russian were responsible for the positive reception and rapid, widespread adoption of the Darwinian theory of evolution by natural selection in Russia.

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[4] [ALTERNATIVE FIRST EDITION OF ORIGIN OF SPECIES] Darwin, Ch. Karla Darwina uchenie o proishozhdenii vidov [Charles Darwin’s Doctrine on the Origin of Species] / izlozhennaya Fridrikhom Rolle (outlined by Friedrich Rolle) translated by M. Vladimirsky. St Petersburg: M. O. Volf, 1864. [4], XXXII, 320 pp: ill. 8vo. Contemporary half-leather. Good copy, some foxing.

6 This book appeared in print 2.5 months after the first edition (on 13th April compared to the 30th January 1864). Some Russian bibliographies name it as the first edition of the Origin of Species, while in fact it was a compilation of Darwin’s text with the work of the German geologist, Friedrich Rolle (printed in 1863 under the original title Ch. Darwin's Lehre von der Entstehung der Arten im Pflanzen- und Tierreich in ihrer Anwendung auf die Schopfungsgeschichte).

Mikhail Vladimirsky, who was a teacher at the 5th Moscow Gymnasium combined both texts in one book, so that the volume contains sections by Darwin on variations under domestication and nature etc. as well as geological explanations by Rolle.

This edition, unlike the one by Glazunov (see above) is illustrated throughout. It, too, was very popular and a second edition was published the following year without any changes.

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[5] [A RUSSIAN EDITION OF DAWRIN PRINTED AT THE SAME TIME AS THE ENGLISH ORIGINAL] Darwin, Charles. Priruchennie zhivotnie i vozdelannie rasteniya [The Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication] 2 vols. / translated from English with the consent and assistance of the author by V. Kovalevsky. Edited by I. M. Sechenov, botanical section edited by A. Gerdt. St

7 Petersburg, [1867-1869]; title-page: 1868. IV, 444 pp: ill + 462, VI pp: ill. 8vo. Very rare and little-known in the west. The copy is in contemporary half-leather. Good condition, some minor repairs to the folded illustrations.

This edition is a fine example of the affection Russians had for Darwin and his theories. Vladimir Kovalevsky (1842-1883), the translator of this book, was a Russian biologist and the founder of evolutionary paleontology. His own scientific works were printed between 1873 and 1877, and according to Henry Osborn (Osborn, H. The rise of Mammalia in North America // Proc. Amer. Assoc. Sci. 1894. vol. 42, pp. 189–227) they “dare away” all traditional and dry European paleontology. That was mainly because Kovalevsky was a devoted Darwinist and adapted Darwin’s ideas to paleontology. Luis Dollo, the Belgian paleontologist, a contemporary of Kovalevsky’s, described him thus: ‘No paleontologist embodies so perfectly our epoch, as the brilliant and miserable Vladimir Kovalevsky, friend and guest of the immortal Charles Darwin’.

Indeed, Kovalevsky was a friend of Darwin’s and they corresponded extensively (unfortunately all the letters were lost). When visiting Darwin in 1877, the Russian botanist, Timiryazev, asked Darwin about his views on Russian science and Darwin replied that he thought Vladimir Kovalevsky was the bright hope of paleontology.

Kovalevsky was very eager to translate Darwin into Russian as soon as possible so he asked Darwin to send him the

8 proofs of his book chapter by chapter as soon as Darwin finished them. Kovalevsky translated with great speed (the complete book contains 900 pages) and he began to print the chapters from July 1867 (the first English edition appeared on 30th January 1868). The chapters were printed one after another as the translation went on. It is unclear whether or not any part of it appeared before the English edition.

E. M. Freeman, the compiler of the well-known bibliography of Darwin’s works, states that there were two impressions of this edition – one in 7 parts and another in two volumes. He says of the first: “Parts 1-4 at least represent the first publication of this work in any language” (Freeman. 925-926)

Of the edition in two volumes (our variant) he says that it was also printed in 1867-1869 but on the title-page of both we read ‘1868’.

In Russian sources we could not find any mention of this other impression – everyone refers to this one and only edition of Darwin’s work (though there was a new translation printed in 1896).

Therefore it may or not be the first edition in any language. What is clear is that this edition is remarkable because at least some parts of it seem to have been printed before the English original.

We know the details of the printing of this edition from the correspondence of Vladimir Kovalevsky with his brother, Alexander. The illustrations were sent by Darwin himself and

9 some were added from Alfred Brem’s books (approved by Darwin).

Both Darwin and Kovalevsky had envisaged that this work would be a part of a much larger edition in several volumes that would include the theory of the origin of species, so on the title pages in the Russian edition we can read “Proishozhdenie vidov vols. 1 and 2.” (Origin of Species) but in fact the Variation was the only book printed.

However, Vladimir Kovalevsky did translate another of Darwin’s books, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals [O vyrazheni emociy u cheloveka I zhivotnih] that appeared the same year as the English edition – 1872.

Kovalevsky committed suicide at the age of forty after the breakdown of his marriage to the celebrated mathematician, Sophia Kovalevskaya who became the first female professor of mathematics in the world.

The story of the printing of this book was described by Yakov Gall, the docent of the St Petersburg Branch of the Institute of the History of Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Science, and printed in the periodical Vesnik VOGiS in 2007 vol. 11, no. 1 pp. 39-44. You can read the Russian text of the article at our stand or online at: http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/vogis/pict_pdf/2007/t11_1/vogis_ 11_1_03.pdf

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10 [6] [THE BOOK THAT PLANTED THE SEED OF REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA] Chernyshevsky, N. Chto Delat? [What Is To Be Done?] (In the original printing of nos. 3-5 of Sovremennik [The Contemporary] (March-May, 1863). St Petersburg, 1863, pp. [2], 5-142; 373-526; 55-197 + [1]: "Zagadka", by N. Berg. Contemporary quarter-leather. New endpapers, title in gilt on the spine is also modern. Some very occasional staining, pencil underscores in text. Good copy overall. Rare.

This scarce first printing of all parts of the most influential Russian novel ever written, Chernyshevsky's magnum opus is considered the single most important work of modern revolutionary thought.

Marx famously stated (to Lopatin), "Of all contemporary economists, Chernyshevsky is the only original mind; the others are just ordinary compilers" (Lopatin, Avtobiografia (Petrograd, 1922) p. 77).

Chernyshevsky wrote the novel in the cell of Petropavlovskaya krepost (the Peter and Paul Fortress, a prison) whilst awaiting trial. He stood accused of writing a proclamation to peasants which government officials saw as an appeal for revolution. When Chernyshevsky was arrested, he was already a significant and popular figure in liberal circles and the idol of the student community.

11 The novel he wrote in his cell is an appeal to the masses. It is extraordinary that the novel passed through censors and appeared in the spring issues of Sovremennik [The Contemporary]. Censor Beketov was dismissed soon afterwards and the issues of the journal containing the novel were banned, but by then it was already too late – the seditious novel had reached its readers and was already creating a storm in Russian society. Unlike previous examples in Russian Literature, Chto delat? resonated with Russian youth and moved them to action.

It set the tone for everyone who craved change – and gave a voice to those who previously lacked one. Chernyshevsky wrote the “bible” of the Russian revolution and became a prophet of revolutionary thought just before being imprisoned for 19 years.

As the Russian anarchist, Pyotr Kropotkin, put it: “For Russian youth of that time this book was a revelation, it became their programme of action, it became their banner” (Kropotkin, P. Idealy I deystvitelnost v russkoy literature (St Petersburg, 1907) p. 306).

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[7] [THE MAIN ECONOMIC WORK OF THE FIRST TRANSLATOR OF MARX] Nikolay - On [Danielson, Nikolay Francevich]. Ocherki nashego poreformennogo obshcshestvennago chozjajstva [Studies of Our Post-Reform Economy]. St Petersburg: A. Benke, 1893. XVI, 353, (1) pp. + 29 tables. 8vo. Contemporary

12 quarter-leather binding with gilt-lettering on the spine. Boards are slightly rubbed. Good condition. Rare.

Nikolay Francevich Danielson (1844-1918) was a pivotal figure in Russian economic thought. He was responsible for the first translation of Karl Marx’s Das Kapital in any language (published in Russian in 1872). Although he corresponded personally with Marx his own economic views were very different. Danielson was the leader of Russian liberal economic thought, but he undertook the translation of Marx to demonstrate that there was a third way of developing the Russian economy. He disagreed both with the official imperial policy of the time and with the Marxist alternative that was becoming very popular in Russia from the 1870s.

Danielson famously stated: "The problem facing us could have been summed up in the following terms: What should we do to bring our industry up to the level of Western industry, in order to prevent Russia from becoming a vassal of more advanced countries, and at the same time raise the living standards of the people as a whole? What we did, instead, was to identify large-scale modern industry with its capitalist form, thus reducing the problem to the following dilemma: To what should we sacrifice our cottage industries - to our own capitalist industry or to English industry? When the issue was presented in this way - and this is how it was presented - our cottage industries were doomed and we began to propagate our own capitalist industry" (pp. 390-91).

13 One of Danielson’s Marxist opponents, a member of Lenin’s organization Souyz borby za osvobozhdenie raboshego klassa, said of him that: “No authors of that time – not Vorontsov, nor Kryvenko, nor Mikhailovsky – brought us more trouble with his criticism of Marxism as Danielson. The “Mont Blanc” of statistical calculations, great erudition, the ability to articulate economic concepts and, finally, the charm of the first Marx translator - made him the most formidable opponent”.

A rare fine copy of one of the most important books in the history of Russian thought.

14 English and American Classics in Russia

[8] [RUSSIAN JOYCE] Joyce, J. Uliss [Ulysses] // Novinki zapada. Al’manakh [Almanac of Western Trends] no. 1 [all published]. Pod redaktsiei Evgeniia Lanna [New books from the West]. Edited by Yevgeny Lann. Moscow, Leningrad: Zemlya I Fabrika, 1925. 8vo. 251, [3] pp., later binding, both original wrappers are preserved under the binding but cropped. The owner’s inscription on the title (1932). Bookseller’s stamp on the rear wrapper. Extremely rare.

First appearance of any part of Ulysses in Russian. The selections from the novel—excerpts from Episodes 1, 7, 12, 17, and 18—appear here on pp. 65–94, translated by V. Zhitomirsky. A complete Russian translation did not appear until 1989, published in book form in 1993. See Emily Tall, ‘The reception of James Joyce in Russia’ in The Reception of James Joyce in Europe, vol. I (2004) p. 245.

Rogozhin, Literaturno-khudozhestvennye al’manakhi i sborniki 429.

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[9] [BANNED “WILDE”] Wilde, O. Tsar zhizni. [i.e. The priest and the acolyte]. Moscow: IKAR, 1908. 54 pp. 8vo. Original wrappers. Very good copy. Minor tears. Rare book.

15 A curious example of Russian Wildeana. The original story was printed anonymously in the Chameleon in 1894. Prosecutors at Wilde’s trial later claimed that he was the author, motivated in doing so by its homosexual theme. Wilde denied writing it and the true identity of the author was later revealed to be the young John Francis Bloxam, editor of the Chameleon. Nevertheless The Priest and the Alcolyte proceeded to appear in collections of Wilde.

This Russian translation was printed the same year as the first Complete Works by Wilde (in Russian). For Russian censors it was quite impossible to allow anything so overt to be printed, so soon after the book appeared the Moscow committee for printing matters (Moskovsky kommitet po delam pechaty) banned the book and confiscated all unsold copies (see Roznatovskaya, Y. Oskar Uail’d v Rossii [Oscar Wilde in Russia] (Moscow, 2000) p. 73).

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[10] [FIRST RUSSIAN EDITION OF THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA] Hemingway, E. Starik i more [The Old Man and the Sea] / translated from English by E. Golisheva and B. Izakov. Moscow: Detgiz, 1956. 96pp. Front ill. 4to. Original card boards and dust-wrapper. The wrapper and the frontispiece by Mark Klyatchko (1924- 2000), design of the book by Solomon Telingater. The

16 d/wrapper is rubbed at the edges and backed with tape in several places but generally fine.

First separate edition in Russian, translated by Elena Golysheva and Boris Izakov. It first appeared in Inostrannaia literatura in 1955. This is the large-format printing by Detgiz, the official state publishing house for children’s books; the translation was also issued by Ogonek the same year.

“In 1955, after a period of sixteen years in which there were no new translations of Hemingway and no reprintings, The Old Man and the Sea was published in the magazine Inostrannaia literatura. The story created a sensation among Soviet readers; once more Hemingway was their favourite living American author. No doubt he had never lost first place in the hearts of many of them, but now the official sanction of an appearance in print made it possible to admire him openly again …” (Deming Brown, Soviet Attitudes towards American Writing, p. 311).

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[11] [AGITPROP ON THE MARSHALL PLAN] BREDOVYE “anglo-amerikanizatory”. Risunki Kukryniksy [Delirious “Anglo-Americanizers”. Drawings by Kukryniksy]. Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo “Iskusstvo”, 1951. 4to. Frontispiece, title-page, and 66 full-page illustrations (of which 8 folding), printed in colour. Original illustrated boards and cloth spine. A few pictures are slightly creased at the border, one with a slight tear, but the illustrations

17 themselves are clean with one exception, slightly marked. The blank backs slightly stained and two loose but complete. First edition.

‘Kukryniksy’ was the pseudonym of the satirical artists Nikolai Sokolov, Mikhail Kupriyanov and Porfiry Krylov. This volume represents a wonderful range of political cartoons aimed at post-war Britain, America, and their allies; the Marshall Plan is a particular target.

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[12] [PROVINCIAL RUSSIAN BEECHER STOWE] Stowe, H Beecher. Khizhina dyadi Toma [Uncle Tom’s Cabin]. Vyatka: Vyatskoe Gubernskoe Zemstvo; Maisheva typo- lithography, 1903. 496 pp. 40 ills. 8vo. Bound in modern half- leather with new endpapers. Occasional stains in the text. Otherwise good copy. Rare.

A rare provincial edition of Beecher-Stowe’s masterpiece. Uncle Tom’s Cabin first appeared in Russian as early as 1857, only five years after the original publication. Although at the start of the XXth century the novel was fairly popular, it was mostly read in Russia in Moscow and St Petersburg editions. Vyatka (now Kirov) is located in Middle Russia 600 miles from Moscow. The fact that the book was printed in the town then populated by 25,000 people is unusual. The illustrations were taken from different Western editions (mostly by Gailard) and printed in Moscow. The censor’s resolution for the book

18 came from the town of Kazan as Vyatka didn’t have its own censor committee.

An interesting piece of Americana from the back-woods of Russia.

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[13] [WALT WHITMAN’S RECEPTION IN RUSSIA] Chukovsky, K. Uot Uitman. Poeziya gryaduschey demokratii [Walt Whitman. The poetry of an emerging democracy] Moscow: I. D. Sytin, 1914. 126 pp.; ill. + 1 portrait. 8vo. Original illustrated wrappers. Minor tears to the front wrapper. Paper strip, ‘K. Ch, Uot Uitman’ glued to spine. A small water stain on the title-page. Good copy. Rare.

Korney Chukovsky (1882-1869), the journalist and children’s writer, did much to promote Western Classics in Russia. Walt Whitman was among his first interests – he wrote articles about his poetry in the 1910s, gave lectures about him and completed this book of translations and critical studies.

The first book by Whitman to be translated into Russian was Leaves of Grass (in 1911), undertaken by Konstantin Balmont. Balmont produced a notable and successful translation, but as a poet in his own right, his work often diverged from the original. It is Chukovsky’s more faithful translations that have endured, going through many editions.

19 But this book is more than a mere translation of selected verses by Whitman. Half of the book is taken up with the poetry and the other half consists of critical studies of Whitman. In the section, “Russians on Whitman” Chukovsky compiled different articles from the periodicals of the time showing, for example, Whitman’s relation to Tolstoy, socialism, Russian futurism etc (see pp. 104-122). Chukovsky also wrote a major article on the life of the poet (see pp. 9- 66).

Rare book showing the influence Whitman had in pre- revolutionary Russia.

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[14] [INTRODUCING CAPTAIN COOK TO OLDER CHILDREN] Chukovsky, Nikolay. Kapitan Dzheyms Kuk [Captain James Cook - a novel for juveniles] (drawings by Petr Sokolov. Moscow, Leningrad: GIZ, 1927. 136 pp. 8vo. Bound in a simple Soviet binding. Both the front and rear wrappers are preserved in the binding. Wrapper and 13 full-page illustrations by Petr Sokolov.

Nikolay Korneevich Chukovsky (1904-1965) is the son of the celebrated Russian children’s writer, Korney Chukovsky. While Korney was the first translator of Leaves of Grass into Russian (see previous item), Nikolay Chukovsky made his name as the translator of classical adventure novels; his translation of Treasure Island is regarded as the best to this day.

20 He is also well-known for popularizing the names of great western explorers among Russian juveniles. The book he wrote on the subject, Voditeli fregatov [The captains of the frigates] (1941), became an instant bestseller. This book is dedicated entirely to Captain James Cook and was written when the author was only 23.

21 Russian Classics [15] [ANNA KARENINA: FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT] Tolstoy, Leo. Anna Karenina // Russkiy vestnik [Russian Herald] 1875. vol. CXV, nos. 1—4; 1876, vol. CXXI, nos. 1—2, vol. CXXII, nos. 3—4, vol. CXXVI, № 12; 1877, vol. CXXVII, nos. 1—4. 8vo, pp. [243]-336, [1], [742]-817, [2], [246]-316, [1], [572]- 641, [1], [305]-390, [679]-745, [1], [291]-339, [1], [641]-693, [1], [687]-737, [1], [267]-324, [1], [830]-898, [329]-382, [709]- 763, [1]. Any sections of text not from Anna Karenina are covered in old paper. Inkstains to first few leaves, edges guarded, some mild staining and fingermarking in places, some marginal waterstaining towards the end. Contemporary half morocco, re-backed preserving original spine. All parts bound together.

Anna Karenina was serialized in Russkiy Vestnik in 1875. This copy was created by a devoted reader who removed all the parts from 13 issues of the journal and bound them in a single volume. Owing to a political disagreement between Tolstoy and the journal’s publisher, Mikhail Katkov, over Serbian independence (Katkov and his journal were in favour, and Tolstoy was against) the last part of the story was never printed. A complete edition (with the final part) was published in book form in 1878, but this was the only separate edition (that is, excluding collections and selections) during Tolstoy’s lifetime.

22 Rare both as an example of devotion to Tolstoy by an unknown reader and as the first appearance in print of this canonical text.

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[16] [THE CHERRY ORCHARD: FIRST APPEARANCE IN PRINT] Chekhov, Anton Pavlovich. Vishnevyi sad [iThe Cherry Orchard] // Sbornik tovarishchestva “Znanie” za 1903 god. Kniga vtoraya [Collection of the Association “Znanie” (‘Knowledge’) for the year 1903. Vol. II]. St Petersburg: “Znanie”, 1904. 8vo. [4], 318, [2] pp. Contemporary binding, marbled boards. Gilt lettering to the spine “Sbornik tovarishchestva ‘Znanie’ 1903. 2.” Marbled edges.

First printing of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. The complete version is included here in book II of the Znanie almanac for 1903, on pp. 29–105, together with pieces by Kuprin, Skitalets, Chirikov, and Yushkevich.

This was the last play written by Chekhov and it became his magnum opus and one of the best-known Russian plays ever. The author died later the same year.

This is the earliest version of the text. Its first appearance as a discreet volume followed later the same year (St Petersburg: Marx, 1904) and introduced some minor changes and corrections.

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23 [17] [BANNED PLAY GOES UNNOTICED IN THE PROVINCES] Griboedov, A. S. Gore ot uma: bez propuskov [Woe from wit: without omissions]. Ostsahkov: I. Bochkarev, 1863. 102 pp. 8vo. Some staining, old boards, re-backed. Very rare.

This play by Alexander Sergeevich Griboedov (1795-1829) is a landmark in Russian Literature and the most important Russian dramatic play in the first half of the XIXth century. Russian censors did not approve of the wit of the play from the very beginning, seeing a lot of hidden meanings in the text. Written in 1821, the play did not appear in book form until 1833, and then with merciless cuts made by the censor. The first attempt to stage the play was made in 1825 but it was cancelled by G. G. Miloradovich, general-governor of St Petersburg (who was shot later the same year by the revolutionary Decembrist, Pyotr Kakhovsky). The first successful staging came only after Griboedov’s death in 1831, but the text had been heavily cut by the censors. Tight censorship rules forbade the staging of any part of the play outside Moscow and St Petersburg, and it could only be printed in the censored version.

Restrictions were boldly ignored in the small town of Ostashkov (population: 9000) early in the second half of the XIXth century. Despite a lack of good documentation, we know for certain that Wit from Woe was staged for a couple of months in 1859 in Ostashkov. The book edition of the play followed four years later in 1863.

24 By that time the first full editions of the play had finally been printed – one in Germany in 1858 and the official one in Moscow in 1862. Nevertheless, this edition was banned, partly because of official scepticism about the printer himself.

The remarkable man behind the publication of this book was Ivan Bochkarev. He was a native of Ostashkov, but at that time he was a student at St Petersburg University. As a student, he travelled abroad where he met both the leader of the Russian opposition, Alexander Hertzen, and the pioneer of liberal Russian printing in the west, Mikhail Elpidin (1835- 1908). Elpidin was based in Geneva and was responsible for printing anti-government periodicals such as Podpol’noe slovo [Underground Word] and Obschee delo [Common Cause] and the first complete edition of Chernyshevsky’s social masterpiece, Chto Delat? [What is to be done?] (1867). In 1868, Bochkarev was arrested for his liberal connections.

This book edition of Woe from Wit was banned immediately and soon became very scarce: in 1908, Ulyaninsky wrote in his bibliography (#4173) that the book was a ‘little-known and extremely scarce provincial edition of Gore ot Uma. Printed in a very limited number of copies’.

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[18] [BANNED MASONIC BOOK] Emin, F.A. Put’ ko spaseniyu ili raznie nabozhnie razmyshleniya [The way to salvation and different pious reflections]. St Petersburg, 1780. [2], XIX, [2], 245, [2] pp. 8vo.

25 Full calf binding. Good condition. (The writing on the verso- title says the book belonged to a student at Ryazan seminary.) Very rare first edition of an important Masonic Russian book.

Fedor Emin (1735-1770) is one of the most mysterious and fascinating characters of his time. Although he died very young, his life has always been a subject of myth and mystery. He was born into a Catholic family, then turned to Islam while serving in the Turkish army, changing his name to Magomet Ali-Emin. In 1761 he converted to Orthodox Christianity and served in the Court of Catherine the Great in St Petersburg. At that time he started to write professionally in Russian and translated from five languages. Poetry and plays were the main genres of Russian writing at that time, but Fedor Emin became one of the first Russian novelists, producing books like Adventures of Themistocles and different political, civil, philosophical, physical and military conversations with his son (1763).

Emin is also remembered for his journalistic experiments: in 1769 he published the journal, Adskaya pochta [Hell’s Correspondence] in which all the content was created by him alone. The form was very unusual in Russia at that time: two devils discussing modern Russian life and its problems. Quite soon, Emin began to reflect in print on Catherine the Great’s journal, Vsyakaya vsyachina [Sundries] and Emin’s journal was swiftly and predictably closed down.

26 Emin died the following year but shortly before that managed to write another ground-breaking text that proved to be his lasting memorial – this particular book, Put’ k spaseniyu. The book reflects on the relations of masons with Orthodox Christianity. Masonry was a very important part of life in Russian high society at that time but most of the books about it were translations. This is Emin’s handbook for Russian freemasons. The first edition came out in 1780 and was an instant hit. In 1787, 278 copies of the book were withdrawn from Moscow booksellers. The book survived seven editions in the XVIIIth century alone and this extraordinary popularity can only be compared with some religious texts.

Svodniy catalog XVIII veka. 8638. Sopikov. 9275.

27 Slavonic Books: 1609 to 1840s [19] [EARLY RUSSIAN TRIODION] Triod postnaya (i.e. Triodion). Vilno: Mamonichi, [1609]. 440 ll. In-folio. Woodcuts: 2 initials, 16 headpieces and 8 frames. Two-coloured printing. Bound in beautiful XVIIIth-century embossed full calf. Two original brass clasps both in good condition. The first and the last leaf of the book are in later paper frames. Leaves 437, 438, 439 are strengthened by paper, no damage to the text. Very good condition. Rare. The bibliography locates 29 copies.

Mamonichi’s typography was one of the first private presses in Western Russia. It was established in 1574 by Pyotr Mstislavets who had previously printed the first book to be produced in Moscow with Ivan Fedorov.

The book is a fine example of the Catholic conquest of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Only a century before this book was printed – at the start of the XVIth century – the main religion in the region was Orthodox Christianity and the main language was Russian and local Russian dialects. But in the middle of the XVIth century the Grand Duchy signed an agreement with Poland to create a unified state (Rzeczpospolita). After that the influence of the Catholic Church gathered in Lithuania and its capital, Vilno, in particular. The first university in the country was founded by Jesuits in 1579. As the Polish had developed much more advanced methods of printing, their numerous printers started to produce liturgical and polemical books to convert

28 the local population – first the nobility and then the poor. Yet, initially, few voices were raised in Lithuania in support of Orthodox Christianity. The answer was to print polemics and several Orthodox books - a contrast to Catholic conquest. The most successful typographers in this field were the Mamonichi brothers. They printed around 85 books in Russian, Greek and Polish. At that time (1609) there was no market in Lithuania for Orthodox liturgical books so they were mostly sold to the Russian state. That is how some (though only a few) survived.

Subsequent attempts to print liturgical non-Catholic books were made at the end of the XVIIIth century when Old Believers (starovery) were allowed to print several books in Vilno which was a part of Poland at that time.

Golenchenko. 69. The book came out without any printer’s imprint but detailed research suggests that it is linked with Triod Tsvetnaya which came out the same year in the same typography and shares similar printing materials.

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[20] [AN EARLY BOOK PRINTED IN PETER THE GREAT’S REIGN] Irmologiy [Irmologion]. Moscow, 1683. [2], 307 ll. 4vo. The pages are in frames. Ornamentation: 1 initial, 27 headpieces and 1 ending. Bound in XIXth-century half- leather. The paper on the front board is carefully restored. Some minor defects to the pages but otherwise a fine copy.

29 This book was only the 6th to be printed during the reign of Peter the Great in Moscow. On 25 June 1682 Peter, who was 10 years old, became the tsar along with his brother, Ivan (Ivan V) who, because of very poor health, could not rule on his own. Ten months later this book was produced. Understandably, it bears none of the hallmarks of what was later known as the epoch of Peter the Great, but it carries his name on the title. Yet it is fascinating as one of the first appearances in print of the name of the man who would change the printing tradition in Russia completely – even introducing a new alphabet and starting the new printing language.

Irmologion is the book used in the Orthodox service for choral singing. Usually it contains the most common prayers – the main liturgies and canons. This was only the third Irmologion printed in Moscow, which is remarkable for a book in such demand; but, at that time, manuscript versions were still widely used. Patriarch Ioakim, who was in charge when the book was printed (he is duly acknowledged on the title-page as well as the tsars) fought against the manuscript tradition as it was associated with Old Believers – the variation of texts in the manuscripts did not serve well the interests of the Official Orthodox Church. This was one of several Irmologions printed during Peter’s reign.

Zernova. 382

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30 [21] [MINIATURE PSALTER FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE XVIIITH CENTURY] Psaltyr’. [Psalter]. Chernigov: the typography of St Ilia Monastery, 1712. [12], 300 ll. 24mo. Two full-page illustrations, the engraved decorations of the title-page and the coat of arms of Ivan Skoropadsky on the title-verso. Ornamentation: 194 initials, 23 headpieces and 4 endings. Bound in contemporary full-leather. No clasps. Some minor defects to the pages but otherwise a good copy. Very rare.

A fine example of the typography in Chernigov that was founded in the late XVIIth century by Lazar Baranovich (1616- 1693). After his death it passed to the auspices of the monastery. At that time it was one of the most liberal typographies in Russia: it was printing a lot of Ukrainian authors (including books in the Ukrainian language) as well as bi- or tri-lingual texts (in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and Latin).

The preface, and the verse on the title-verso, is in Ukrainian. It was written by Nil, the Prior of the monastery. It is dedicated to Peter the Great and the hetman, Ivan Skoropadskiy.

Complete copies of books in miniature formats are very rare, and many have not survived at all, because they were frequently used by travellers.

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31 [22] [PETER THE GREAT: THE ANTI-CHRIST] Javorsky, Stephan. Znameniya prishestviya Antichrista [Signs of the Coming of the Anti-Christ] Moscow, 1782. 15, 152ll, 1 engraved frontispiece. Engraved headpieces and endings. Contemporary full-leather binding. The lettering on the spine “O Antichriste” (About the Anti-Christ).

The original book was printed in 1703. Stephan Javorsky (1658-1722), the Russian Orthodox bishop, was the main opponent of Peter the Great’s church reforms. The Emperor tried to diminish the role of the church in governing the country by changing its structure completely. He also, for the first time in Russian history, forced the Church to submit to the monarch.

Stephan Javorsky, a well-known polemicist and spiritual leader of the time, led the protests against the Emperor’s attempts to diminish the significance of the Orthodox Church in Russian life. This book is a powerful example of his protest against the reforms. In a complex polemic that avoided explicitly naming his enemies, but which was well understood by contemporaries, Javorsky deployed a series of metaphors to argue that the reforms were an omen of the end of the world and Peter himself is cast as the Anti-Christ.

The interesting thing about this edition is that the name of the author – Stephan the bishop of Tver and Murom – is encrypted in capital red letters in the preface, a feature that is perhaps unique for a book of its time in Russia, and certainly extremely unusual.

32 Zernova. XVIII. 1013. Undolsky. 2754.

* [23] [BOOK OF WOODCUTS FROM THE MID XIXTH CENTURY] Opisanie svyatogo grada Ierusalima [Description of the Holy Town of Jerusalem]. Moscow, [1840s]. 51 ll. 4to. Engraved throughout – woodcuts on most of the pages. XIXth-century half-leather binding. Water damage on some pages. Corners of some pages renewed. Lacks last two leaves.

A scarce example of the “lubok book” (a popular book aimed at the poor). Cheap books consisting of images (lubki) were the most popular printed material in pre-revolutionary Russia. Peasants were the most likely audience for them. Few such books have survived – most that have are incomplete – because the images themselves were often cut out and displayed for decorative purposes.

This book went through several printings after 1771. They are very difficult to distinguish from one another but according to Klepikov (Russkie gravirovannye knigi XVII-XVIII vv no. 41) the frontispiece appeared only in the 1840s. The frontispiece of this copy and several other features confirms that it was from that period although the date on the title-page is 1771.

The work of the Serbian writer, Simon Simonovich and the Serbian artist, Hrestafor Zhefarovich, this book is the first edition. It was printed (in Serbian) in Vienna in 1748. Zhefarovich visited Jerusalem before undertaking the

33 illustrations. It first appeared in Russian print in 1771 and was the first illustrated book in Russian with views of the Holy Land. As descriptions of pilgrimages to Jerusalem have always been an important part of Russian book culture, the first illustrated book on the subject is clearly significant. Indeed it became one of the most popular books of its time and pictures created by Zhefarovich became iconic among common folk.

Obolyaninov. 1920. Rovinsky, D. Russkie narodnie kartinki [Russian Popular Pictures]. 1881. Vol. 3. # 645

34 Manuscripts [24] [SOPHIA THE HOLY WISDOM OF GOD] Sbornik o Sofii Premudrosti Bozhiey, s katekhizcheskimi dopolneniyami [Compilation about “Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of God”, with catechetical additions]. Russian Empire, c. 1780. 4o. Manuscript. Written in Church Slavonic. Neat cursive handwriting. On the last page – inscription made in the scribe’s hand: “This book ‘Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of God’ rewritten in the year 1780, February 28th”. Very well preserved. Rare type of manuscript.

A fine example of late calligraphic Cyrillic handwriting. This manuscript is dated by the scribe himself (1780) and contains a number of liturgical and non-liturgical texts, most of which are devoted to Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of God.

Sophia is figured as the Holy Wisdom of God and the saints, a status obtained through humility, and Mary the Theotokos is the first and greatest of all saints. The Hagia Sophia or Holy Wisdom Church in Constantinople was the religious centre of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly a thousand years. In Wisdom or Sophia is vested the Son of God, about whom, in the Proverbs of Solomon it says: “Wisdom has built a house for herself, and has set up seven pillars” (9:1). These words refer to Christ, the Son of God, or “Wisdom of God” (1 Cor.1:30), and “house” refers to the Most Holy Virgin Mary, of whom the Son of God is incarnate.

35 One of the most interesting texts in the manuscript is “The narrative on ‘Sophia, the Holy Wisdom of God’”. The most accurate Old Russian copy of this narrative dates from the early XVIth century. The last three articles of the manuscript are teaching texts from the Western-Russian catechism.

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[25] [CALLIGRAPHIC CANONS] Kannonik [Book of Canons]. Russian Empire, last quarter of XVIIIth century. 4to. Manuscript. Written in Church Slavonic. Decoration: Cinnabar headlines, neat ornamental initials and sophisticated ligature. Colophons. After the Canon to St Zosima and St Savvaty – the sketch of the Archangel. Wooden binding covered in leather with ornamental stamping (hot stamping), contemporary binding, but two canons in the middle of the book have been added later (latter half of XIXth century).

A fine example of the late calligraphic Cyrillic handwriting and sophisticated decoration. This Book of Canons is mainly devoted to the saints and relics of the so-called “Russian North”. St Zosima and St Savvaty were the founders of the Solovetsky Monastery (XVth century). Since 1547, Savvaty and Zosima have been venerated as saints by the Russian Orthodox Church. The Theotokos of Tikhvin is one of the most celebrated Orthodox Christian icons. The icon itself miraculously appeared in Russia near Tikhvin c. 1383. Icons of the Virgin, known as "The Sign", appeared in Russia between

36 the XIth and XIIth centuries. The “Novgorod Znamenie” icon was highly venerated in the Novgorod Republic. This manuscript was presumably in the possession of Old Believers given the very unusual content of the book.

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[26] [OLD BELIEVERS’ CHANTS] Oktay [The Octoechos (for singers)] neumatic notation. Russian Empire, latter half of the XIXth century. 4o. Manuscript. Written in Church Slavonic. Decoration: The vocal “Lestvitsa” (or the “hill”) in bright colours on the first page. Multi-coloured ornamental frame with a neat ligature title (on the title page), typical of the Guslitsy region. Sophisticated floral ornament in the same style on the margins of the next page. Large decorated coloured initials throughout the text. Wooden binding covered in leather with ornamental stamping (hot stamping). Some blurring of the ornaments without any actual water damage to the paper. No clasps. Fine copy.

The text and notation belong to an experienced scribe. This manuscript comprises the chants of Octoechos and represents a classical example of the vocal liturgical book which reflects chanting traditions of the so-called Russian Old Believers. One of the crucial features of this tradition is the “Signs” (“znamena” in Church Slavonic) – or, neumatic notation. Since the inner schism of the Russian Orthodox Church (in the XVIIth century) this Old-Russian type of notation, inherited from Byzantium, continues to be used by

37 the Old Believers and is an important part of their religious “ideology”.

38 Agitprop

[27] [THE PIONEER OF AGITPROP AND HIS GIFT TO STALIN] Mi, nashi druzya i nashi vragi v risunkah Deni [Ourselves, Our Friends and Our Enemies in Deni’s Drawings]. Moscow- Leningrad: GIZ, 1930. 175pp: ill. 4to. Original printed wrappers. Small tear to the spine and to the back of the wrapper. Signed by Deni to Stalin.

Viktor Deni (1893-1946) was one of the creators of the style in Soviet art now called agitprop. He created posters and caricatures ridiculing the West while celebrating everything Soviet.

This copy is signed to Stalin by Deni himself. He wrote: "Iosif Vissarionovich! If ever you give me the pleasure of meeting You, I'd be most grateful and filled with joy. Yours, Deni.' On the title-page is the stamp of Stalin’s personal library.

Deni was the main caricaturist of Stalin's Russia and took his inspiration from the man himself. This is a grateful gift from the pupil to the master.

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[28] [MAYAKOVSKY AS AN ARTIST] Vladimir Mayakovsky. Moscow: GIZ, 1932. 287pp. 8vo. In original wrapper and illustrated dust-jacket. Spine of the dust-jacket is re-backed, some tears to the top of the d/jacket.

39 Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893-1930) was not only a celebrated Russian poet but also a very influential artist and the illustrator of his own poetry. His art went through various stages, much as his poetry did – from futurism (before the revolution) to agitprop and the constructivist images of the early Soviet years. Most of his legacy consists in posters and so-called agit-lubki (lubki are popular woodcuts common among the poor in pre-revolutionary Russia); agit-lubok is a term Mayakovsky coined himself to describe the popular posters he created, mostly during the Civil War.

This book appeared two years after the poet’s death and was the first monograph on his less well-known talent in graphical art. It consists mostly of images but also includes previously unpublished articles on French art by Mayakovsky written in 1922.

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