THE RUSSIAN SHORES OF THE BLACK SEA IN THE AUTUMN OF 1852, with a Voyage Down the Volga, and a Tour Through the Country of the Don Cossacks
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1854. Hardcover. Fourth edition, revised and enlarged. Printed in Edinburgh, and bound in London by Edmonds & Remnants, with the firm's ticket to the rear pastedown. Octavo: xiv, [2], 380, [16, ads] pp. with the frontispiece, a 2-color lithograph, as well as the folding map, a hand-colored steel engraving, and a full-page map, a lithograph. Also features pictorial chapter heads and tail pieces, all wood engravings by Edmund Evans. In the publisher's chestnut horizontal fine-ribbed cloth binding, with blind-stamped borders, floral spandrels and ornaments, and a gilt-stamped vignette of camels drawing a wagon on the front panel; blind-stamped floral ornaments and gilt-stamped titling on the spine; and a repetition of the blind-stamping from the front on the rear panel. Just a hint of foxing, with a period previous owner's inscription and date (1855) and a set of small initials to the front flyleaf. The boards are remarkably fresh, with mild wear along the extremities; else very good or better. Provenance: from the Publishers' Bookbindings collection of Ellen K. Morris and Edward S. Levin.
The British diplomat and writer Laurence Oliphant (1829–88) was the author of travel diaries and novels, including the very successful Piccadilly (1870). A keen traveller, he worked as a correspondent for The Times during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71) and served as Secretary to British Diplomat Lord Elgin in Canada, China, and Japan. This book is a narrative of the journey Oliphant made to Russia as a young man, with his friend Oswald Smith. Its publication in 1853 coincided with the beginning of the Crimean War, turning the book into an immediate success. From the splendour of mid-19th century St. Petersburg, to the annexation of the Crimea, and the international consequences of Russian foreign policy for Europe, the narrative is also full of witty anecdotes and captivating descriptions. Very influential in its time, it remains an important resource for cultural and political historians. Very good. Item #80102
Price: $350.00