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Bernard J Shapero Rare Books Launches New Russian Department
Russia is playing an increasingly pivotal role on the world stage and interest in Russian literature is gathering momentum, especially amongst Russians wanting to buy back their heritage. With this in mind, Bernard J Shapero Rare Books has launched a specialist Russian department (headed by PierreYves Guillemet, a fluent Russian speaker) embracing books, prints, maps and vintage photographs relating to Russia, the Ukraine, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
‘After 20 years of dealing in books on Russia we feel the time is right to establish a fully- fledged Russian department headed by a Russian speaker. We have always visited Russia and we enjoy taking part in the Moscow Antiques Fair,’ said Bernard Shapero. ‘We have been amassing antiquarian books of Russian interest from all over the world, and at the moment the market is particularly strong for books written in Russian,’ said Shapero. ‘We are especially proud of our new department’s first catalogue, which is the biggest and most comprehensive of any antiquarian bookseller and it includes some truly magnificent items from the Imperial library.’
There can be no better provenance for a discerning Russian collector than the Imperial Romanov Library, and Bernard J Shapero Rare Books is offering two magnificent sets of books from the personal library of Tsar Paul I, son of Catherine the Great. The 35 works in 164 volumes dating from the mid to late 18th century, are in mint condition and written in French by a variety of keystone philosophers and scientists of the period such as Rousseau, Montesquieu, Gmelin and Anson spanning the all the subjects one would expect to find in a library of this calibre such as history, geography, art, science, travel and the military. Each is bound in contemporary Russian red morocco and richly gilded; most bear the gilt Imperial armorial monogram with the initial P on each cover, while others have the Imperial coat of arms of the Tsar’s second wife, Maria Fedorovna and all are stamped with the Russian double-headed Imperial eagle, as well as the Tsarskoe Selo library stamp. This extraordinary group left Russia after the revolution, has been in a private European collection ever since and is priced at £350,000. Another set from the Imperial library is the first collected edition of Voltaire’s 18th century works, these too are emblazoned with the crests of Tsar Paul I and Maria Fedorovna, and the asking price is £80,000.
The catalogue features 135 important top quality items, such as an extremely rare and complete first edition of the first bible in Slavonic which was printed in Ostrog in the Ukraine in 1581 and has a tooled, contemporary leather binding. Another highlight is the very important full set of the handsome Tsarskaya okhota na Rusi (The Imperial Hunt in Russia) of 1896-1911. Greatly sought after, this renowned and lavishly illustrated book describes Imperial hunts and all aspects of Russian courtly life from 10th-19th century; both have a price tag of £45,000.
Bernard J Shapero Rare Books is delighted to have two extraordinary lithograph panoramas of Moscow - the tallest and the longest - both are hand coloured and extremely rare and both are datable to 1850, a time when panoramas were the height of fashion in Europe. The first Panorama de Moscou is by Acarie Baron (c.1850), which at 70×450cms (2′4″x14′9″) is the tallest view of any Russian city and is priced at £150,000. The second is the longest lithographed panorama of Moscow which measures 29×470cms (11′x 15′5″) and is from the renowned Parisian workshop of Lemercier; beautiful and vibrantly coloured, this is for sale at £80,000. Created especially for the tourist market is Alexandre Pluchart’s Nouvelle Collection de Quarante-deux Vues de Saint-Petersbourg et des Environs of 1826. These celebrated lithographs are regarded as the best views of St Petersburg, and include all major monuments as well as lively street scenes. The asking price for this handsome book is £27,500.
‘We have included a wide variety of quintessentially Russian items which would grace any elegant home or office. We hope this catalogue appeals to established connoisseurs and new collectors as well as institutions,’ said Pierre Yves Guillaumet, the specialist in charge.
