The Character of the Russians, and a Detailed History of Moscow.

£4,500 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

A nice example of an important work, finely coloured by hand and illustrated after drawings by Lavrov, showing Russian peasants and many atmospheric views of the Moscow Kremlin; it also includes a large folding plan and panorama of the city. Lyall, a botanist and a traveller, claimed that he had spent some of the best years of his life in Russia. Having studied medicine, he practised as a junior doctor in St Petersburg and later lived in Ostrov, near Moscow. The work includes a catalogue of plants and edible mushrooms found in the Moscow area, an essay on Russian architecture and an account of the 1812 Fire of Moscow during the occupation by Napoleon. First edition; 4to (28.5 x 23.5 cm); 23 engraved plates, some folding, including 13 hand-coloured aquatint plates by Edward Finden after Lavrov, a folding plan of Moscow by Mutlow, 2 wood engraved illustrations in text, armorial bookplate and discreet bookbinders ticket to front pastedown, a touch of offsetting from a few of the plates otherwise clean and tight internally; later half calf, marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt in five compartments, all edges speckled red, boards a little rubbed and scuffed, hinges cracked but firm, otherwise a very a good copy; 28, [2], cliv, [2], 639, [1]pp. Abbey (Travel), 227; Prideaux 228, 343.

• Binding: Hardcover

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.