No 5577
Kantemir, Antiokh D.
SATIRI I DRUGIYA stikhotvorcheskiya sochineniya knyazya Antiokha Kantemira....
St. Petersburg, Akademii Nauk, 1762.
14; 16; 176 pp. Contemporary full calf, spine gilt. Overall very good condition. Lacks the portrait sometimes called for. Some rubbing to covers, upper part of front cover starting.
18th century satire poetry by the father of modern Russian literature (acc. to Belinsky): Antiokh D. Kantemir (1708-1744). "His work reflects the scope and purpose of Peter the Great's European style reforms, standing out as a contribution to the integration of Russian culture into the world circuit of Classicism".
Kantemir was a Russian diplomat in London and Paris, where he was a close friend of Voltaire and Montesquieu. Besides his own writing, he translated letters and poetry by a.o. Horace, Fontenelle, Boileau and Juvenal.
Kantemir is known for his fables and poetry but his fame rests mainly on the satires, circulated in manuscript form for decades, but not published in Russia until 1762. Rare.
References:
Svodnyi - 2788,
Sopikov - 10151,
Bitovt - 1418,
Smirdin - 8188.
Price: 9500 USD
No 4248
Noviya ezhemesyachniya sochineniya ....1790 goda
St. Peterburg, 1790
6 issues, July - December 1790, of the periodical journal. 80 pp; 97; 103; 94; 95; 95; tables of content to all issues. Diverse topics. Separate titles to all except the July issue. Uncut, very fine. 6 volumes.
Price: 1650 USD
No 5427
Lomonosov, Mikhail
POLNOE SOBRANIE SOCHINENII
St. Petersburg, Imp. Akademii Nauk, 1794
Containing: Rossiiskaya Grammatika, Ritorika, Kratkoi Rossiiskoi Letopisets, Drevnayaya Rossiiskaya Istoriya. Vols. 5 and 6 of Lomonosov's collected works. All four works are all ranked among Lomonosov's most important.
Contemporary full calf. Front cover almost detached, otherwise good. Internally very good, paper strong, white and crisp. Second edition. 700 pps. General titles, 4 separate titles.
Price: 1700 USD
No 5579
Rumovskii, Stepan Yakovlevich (Rumovsky)
NABLJODENIYA YAVLENIYA VENERI V SOLNTSE V ROSSIISKOI IMPERII V 1769 GODU UCHINENNIYA S ISTORICHESKIM PREDUVEDOMLENIEM, SOCHINENNIM STEPANOM RUMOVSKIM, AKADEMII NAUK ULENOM
St. Petersburg, pri Imp. Akad. Nauk., 1771.
4 to. (8), 166 pp. Contemporary full calf, richly spine gilt. Engraved vignettes to title and page one. Folding illustration page 165.
Rare, edition size: 1200 copies. Very well preserved in a contemporary beautiful binding. From the reading library of Aleksandr Smirdin, with his bookplate.
Rumovsky (1734-1812) was the first Russian astronomer of renown. He studied in Berlin under Leonard Euler, taught mathematics and astronomy at the University of St. Petersburg and held numerous important positions in the St. Petersburg Academy. He published scientific papers and books in astronomy, geography, mathematics and physics.
In the 18th century, the precise measurements of the distance between the Earth and the Sun were recognized as one of the most urgent tasks of astronomy. It was previously suggested that the best method to measure this distance was to observe the point at which Venus was between the Sun and the Earth (transit of Venus). Two such points occurred in 1761 and 1769, and the observations, performed everywhere over Europe, lead indeed to a very precise data related to the distance to the Sun.
In 1761, the effort was coordinated all over Europe, including Russia, and consisted in a number of expeditions to observe the phenomenon. Rumovsky headed the expedition to Selenginsk in Siberia.
The 1761 results were used for more refined observations in 1769. In that year, Rumovsky was coordinating the observations in the Russian Empire and personally conducted observations in Kola, and collaborated with Euler to produce the most complete picture based on the observations in all possible locations.
This important and rare book is Rumovsky's main work concerning the Venus transition.
Bibliographical references: Svodnyi 6202, Sopikov 6429, Smirdin 4105 (this copy).
Price: 11700 USD
No 5578
Shafirov, P. P.
RASSUZHDENIE, KAKIE ZAKONNIE prichini Ego Velichestvo Petr Velikii Imperator...k nachatijo voini protiv korolya Karla XII shvedskago 1700 godu........
St. Petersburg, 1722.
37, 380 pp. Late 18th century full leather. Generally fine condition, white and crisp. Some leaves prof. restored.
Bitovt 343 (Bitovt is a catalogue of rare and valuable Russian 18th century books), Sopikov 9582.
Rare and very early book from the epoch of Peter the Great. The discourse was written at the request of Peter, who wrote the conclusion himself. The book can be considered the first Russian writing on an international political subject; the Russian-Swedish war. The author draws on historical documents. In the introduction he explains the reasons to tell the truth about the great northern war. Peter Pavlovich Shafirov (1669-1739) was a writer and statesman of the Peter era. This was his main work.
Price: 14900 USD
