Peter Bichsel   Fine Books

Voltaire. Histoire de l’empire de Russie sous Pierre le Grand, par l’auteur de l’histoire de Charles XII. 2 vols.

Title in red and black with engr. vignette (repeated on title of vol. II). With engr. frontispiece, 2 engr. folding maps and engr. text illus. in vol. II. XXX, 242 pp., 2 leaves index; XVI, 249 pp., (23) pp. index. 8vo. Plain wrappers, uncut. – Leipzig, Freder. Lankisch et héritiers (vol. I) and Jean Frédéric Junius (vol. II), 1761-1764.

On of several immediate re-editions following the first edition Geneva 1759 (vol. I) and 1763 (vol. II) of Voltaire’s important work praising the enlightening spirit of the Russian empire in the period of Tsar Peter I, the Great. The folding maps, both by D’Anville, show the Asian and the European parts of Russia. The frontispiece depicts a portrait of Jelisaweta Petrowna Romanowa, Russian empress from 1741 to 1762 and the last descendant of the Romanov family, as well as the armorial emblem of the Moscow Academy (equal to first edition Geneva 1759). The work was published anonymously because of political and considerations and censorship. – Bengesco 1369. – Wrappers crumbling on spine. – – Best.-Nr. 27348