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A Russian Folk Fairy Tale
VASILISA THE BEAUTIFUL

One of the most popular folk tales in the treasury of Russian fairy stories is about a merchant’s daughter and her trusty helper – a magical doll-amulet. Here the telling of this enchanting fable is augmented by hand-tinted lithographs, original calligraphy, insets and vignettes.

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Mikhail Chevega
PETER I. CATHERINE II. THE GREATS. RUSSIAN. MONEY

An original hand-made publication produced in a Modernist style by the creative partnership of the artist Pavel Kaplevich and the poet Mikhail Chevega. The content of the book is a surrealistic dialogue between the two “Greats” – Peter I and Catherine II – rendered visual by the artist through the prism of notaphily.

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Alexander Pushkin
THE TALE OF THE FISHERMAN AND THE GOLDEN FISH
Translation by Julian Henry Lowenfeld

An edifying fairy tale by the great Russian writer in an English translation produced specially for this edition by Julian Henry Lowenfeld, an American and Russian poet, dramatist and composer, as well as one of the best translators of Pushkin’s works. The illustrations in the book are engravings made in the dry point technique by the gifted and original artist Boris Zabirokhin.

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FLORA GEORGICA
Plantarum Iberiae centuria

Flora Georgica  is a major project combining the finest traditions of applied art, science and publishing. It brings together a botanical album prepared by the publishing house and an artistically painted porcelain service produced by the Imperial (Lomonosov) Porcelain Factory. The visual basis for the project was depictions of 100 plants that grow on the territory of Georgia in the Caucasus featured in the scholarly publications of outstanding 18th-century botanists.

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Piotr Tchaikovsky
THE NUTCRACKER

A bibliophilic edition of the ballet The Nutcracker, timed to marked the 20th anniversary of the legendary production of the ballet by the artist Mikhail Chemiakin. The book contains unique artistic-historical materials — a facsimile of a handwritten score of the ballet made by Tchaikovsky himself accompanied by sketches produced by the artist for the set-design of the production.

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Sun Tzu
THE ART OF WAR

Ancient China’s first treatise on warfare. A manual written by the outstanding general Sun Tzu that contains precisely formulated principles of strategy and tactics for waging war. The book continues a series of publications devoted to Chinese military craft.

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Alexander Tvardovsky
VASILY TYORKIN

This publication, prepared for the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, possesses not only artistic, but also historical value. All the items of an officer’s equipment used in making the binding for the book are authentic. The scuff marks, traces of wear and individual differences between each copy serve as a reminder of the fates of those who gave their lives for the sake of a peaceful future.

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Nikolai Gogol
THE NOSE

An absurd satirical short story by the famous Russian dramatist, superbly illustrated by the Saint Petersburg graphic artist Boris Zabirokhin.

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The Revelation of Saint John the Divine
THE APOCALYPSE

The most mysterious book of the New Testament with a narrative that has inspired numerous works of world art. The illustrations were made in the rare mezzotint graphic art technique.

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Hafiz Shirazi
FORTY POEMS

The work of the Persian poet Hafiz Shirazi is rated highly not only in the Near and Middle East, but around the whole world. In this publication, the great writer’s verses are accompanied by the works of two eminent artists: Bahman Panahi, a master of modern calligraphy from Iran, and the painter and graphic artist Rashid Dominov.

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THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES or THE PREACHER

The third edition of the most enigmatic and most quoted book of the biblical canon, whose authorship is traditionally ascribed to King Solomon. The hallowed text of the poem is accompanied by illustrations full of symbolism and allegories produced in the rare photogravure (heliogravure) technique.

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Alexander Pushkin
THE ARISTOCRATIC PEASANT GIRL

A charming colourful book, filled with gentle irony, based on a series of drawings by the Saint Petersburg artist Alexander Voitsekhovsky that were inspired by the plot of a short story penned by the great Russian writer Alexander Pushkin in the genre of a comic sketch with elements of a love story.

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Alexei Remizov
WHAT IS TOBACCO
Gonosy’s Tale

This book is the first official publication of a story by the great Russian writer Alexei Remizov that, due to a combination of irrational, mystical circumstances, was destined never to become a generally acknowledged masterpiece of world erotic literature.

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William Shakespeare
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK

The Russian translation of one of the most enigmatic and contradictory works of the world’s classic literature was made by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov. This edition included 86 woodcuts by Sergei Shvemberger, the fruits of seven years of work by the artist.

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Aram Khachaturian
SPARTACUS

The publication of Spartacus was part of a unique joint project with Russia’s State Academic Bolshoi Theatre. A handwritten score of the ballet is accompanied by engravings produced in a rare intaglio printing technique in traditional workshops in Paris.

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THE THIRTY-SIX STRATAGEMS
An Ancient Chinese treatise

For many years this treatise was a restricted source of great Chinese wisdom passed on as arcane knowledge. The stratagems are not merely military cunning, but the key to the secrets of success, the science of power and the art of communicating and managing people.

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Piotr Tchaikovsky
SWAN LAKE

A unique joint project between the Rare Books from Saint Petersburg publishing house and Russia’s State Academic Bolshoi Theatre. The book contains facsimile extracts from a score of the ballet written in Tchaikovsky’s own hand that are illustrated with lithographs made in the rare sfumato technique.

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THE LAY OF IGOR’S HOST

The greatest patriotic poem from Early Rus’. Engravings with an astonishing multitude of facets and emotional intensity become a visual dialogue between Yury Lyukshin, an Honoured Artist of Russia, and the late 12th-century epic’s brilliant author. This publication is made especially valuable by the completely handwritten text executed in ustav, the uncial-style script that is the earliest form of Cyrillic writing.

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DIALOGUES
Russian and French poets of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in illustrations by the artist Alexei Kamensky

Dialogues is a publication with an unusual concept. It is designed as an alligat, a two-way book (from the Latin alligare – “to bind, attach”). Both sides are front covers. One leads to verses by famous Russian poets, the other to works by French poets, printed in the original language in both cases.

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THE FROG PRINCESS
A Russian folk fairy tale recorded by Alexander Afanasyev

One of the publishing house’s most colourful books was created in the style of 18th-century lubok (popular woodcut print) fairy tales. The lithe, springy “dancing” handwritten text is accompanied by illustrations that are free impulsive drawings created by the legendary Saint Petersburg graphic artists known collectively as G.A.V. Traugot.

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Grigory Kapelyan
AN AZBUKOVNIK OF PAGAN RUS’

This book with an astonishing atmosphere features engravings depicting personages from the fabulous and mysterious world of pagan deities and spirits. The illustrations are accompanied by ironically humorous tales written in the bylichka genre of oral folklore that existed in Rus’ up until the 17th century.

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THE SONG OF SONGS

The Song of Songs is a book that stands out for its ambiguous content and is considered one of the most enigmatic parts of the Old Testament. The distinctive, highly expressive illustrations, full of symbols and allegories, are like a key to understanding the mystical meaning of the biblical text.

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Mikhail Lermontov
A HERO OF OUR TIME

The novel A Hero of Our Time is a masterpiece of Russian psychological literature by the great poet and prose writer Mikhail Lermontov. The prototype for the book’s unusual cover was the uniform of an officer of the Nizhny Novgorod Dragoons from the 1830s.

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THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
Deuteronomy 5:6–21

It is hard to call this publication a book in the traditional sense of the word. The unusual cover design, the materials used, and the impressive size of the oak case make it more of an objet d’art, an exquisite creation, a unique museum exhibit.

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Tamara Bukovskaya
GIACOMERON

The book Giacomeron contains a cycle of poems by Tamara Bukovskaya, a poet, essayist, translator and full member of the Academy of Russian Verse, that was inspired by the autobiography of Giacomo Casanova (Histoire de ma vie, 1791–98).

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Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
THE INGENIOUS GENTLEMAN DON QUIXOTE OF LA MANCHA

Despite the restrained, minimalistic design of its cover, this publication possesses unique artistic value as it includes burin engravings and calligraphy that are the product of 14 years of work by the artist and master calligrapher Ilya Bogdesko.

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Horace
CARMINA

Seven odes by Quintus Horatius Flaccus, one of the greatest poets of the Golden Age of Roman literature, are housed, as befits a real treasure, in a casket of snow-white Carrara marble. This publication stands out not only for the bold approach to its outward appearance, but also for its unique content: original woodcuts and novel textual compositions in Latin.

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Sophocles
ANTIGONE

Antigone is a famous, splendid tragedy by Sophocles, the Athenian dramatist who was one of the greatest poets of Classical Antiquity. This edition is like a precious archaeological find on account of its artistic composition, the illustrations, the unique setting of the text and the skilfully made cover incorporating ceramic reliefs.

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Anacreon
TWELVE POEMS

This publication presents the exquisite, light-hearted erotically charged works of the Greek lyric poet, a life-affirming eulogizer of sensual love, wine and feasting, whose work and personality still arouse lively interest today.

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