145. "Călătorie în sudul Rusiei și Crimeea, în Ungaria, Valahia și Moldova" ("Journey to the South of Russia and Crimea, Hungary, Wallachia and Moldavia"), by Anatole Demidoff, Prince of San Donato, first edition, French language, Paris, 1854, dedicated to Emperor Nicholas I of Russia, with 27 engravings by Auguste Raffet, rare item.

Starting price

EUR 500

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EUR 500

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Session

Thu, 23 March 2023 19:00

Anatole Demidoff (1813-1870) was a Russian nobleman with a complex personality, a true intellectual, scientist, diplomat and explorer of his times. After having spent his youth in Paris alongside his father, the Ambassador of the Russian Empire in France, he returns to his home country, where he would dedicate his time to a long scientific career, abandoning diplomacy, which he had joined because of family pressure. The work describes both the southern part of the Empire and Crimea, territories recently conquered by the Russian armies, and still rather unknown, as well as the Romanian Principalities region, Wallachia and Moldavia, which, although under Ottoman domination, had also entered Russia's area of interest, seen as a path for the army's passage towards Constantinople and the Straits. In his scientific expeditions, Demidoff was accompanied by two French friends, a writer and an engraver painter, Jules Janin and Auguste Raffet, who helped him draft and illustrate his work. Published for the first time in Paris in 1840 and 1842, in four volumes, the work enjoyed a great success, which caused its re-issuing in one volume in 1854. Its pages contain numerous references to Romanians, both the general economic, social and political situation of the Principalities, as well as the people and their lifestyle. The 27 extraordinary engravings by Raffet are completed by numerous vignettes and illustrations. The work was dedicated to Emperor Nicholas I, whose portrait is present at the beginning, although the author was disfavoured by the sovereign. The specimen is bound with a vintage leather back, divided into five sections, with golden borders.

Dimensions

width 19 cm, height 27 cm, custom 27 Ã 19 cm

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