85. "Voyage dans la Russie méridionale et la Crimé", by Anatole Demidoff, prince of San Donato, French, Paris, 1848, with 100 engravings, 14 of which illustrate aspects from Moldova and Wallachia, and 4 from Bessarabia, a very rare copy of the luxury edition (of monumental size)

Selling price

EUR 5.250

Session

Tue, 21 November 2023 19:00

Count Antole Demidoff (1813-1870) stood out as a notable personality of his age. An encyclopaedic spirit, a diplomat in the service of the Russian Empire, an engineer and explorer, he made himself known in Europe of the time due to his works published in France and elsewhere, among which this one was his masterpiece. He organised an expedition to explore a vast space, consisting of 22 researchers (geologists, botanists, engineers, ethnographers), as well as illustrative artists, the most valuable of whom was his friend Auguste Raffet, as well as writers. The results obtained from the field observations were published in the pages of this paper, which had a substantial success in Europe, leading Demidoff to publish several editions, of different formats, among which this one represents the luxury, large format edition. The texts are illustrated with the engravings made by Raffet. The work contains bountiful valuable information about the Romanians from the Principalities or about the Transylvanian area. This copy has a vintage cardboard binding, with the leather book spine divided into seven cartouche designs. The base cartouche contains a nobleman’s monogram containing the initials C.F.L.

Dimensions

width 36 cm, height 54 cm

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For clarifications regarding the bidding procedure, hammer price costs, guarantee, payment, and collection terms for the winning lot, we recommend carefully reading/re-reading the Bidding Regulations.

For additional information regarding the lot and the auction, please contact the Art Consultants Department.

Similar lots