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an old map of the russian empire with a sun in the skyan old book with a green cover sitting on a white surfacean old book with a black and white image of a tableau generalan old map of the country of england and wales in a book
Premium Maître Paul PASTAUD

366 - Russia – [DELPUECH DE COMEIRAS (Victor)]. A General Survey o…
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Estimate €450 - €500
Sale commission
Description
Russia – [DELPUECH DE COMEIRAS (Victor)]. A General Survey of Modern Russia, and the Political Situation of that Empire at the Beginning of the 19th Century. By V. C***, continuator of the *Abrégé de l’Histoire générale des voyages*. Paris, Treuttel and Wurtz, Year X – 1802. 2 vols. in-8, XI-[1]-350 pp. and 405 pp., 2 fold-out maps (European Russia and Asian Russia), speckled light-coloured half-calf with corner pieces, smooth decorated spines, twisted gilt ribbons, title and volume number labels, daffodil-coloured binding (contemporary binding). A few foxing spots on one map, but a fine copy. First edition. A few years before Napoleon’s disastrous invasion, a very comprehensive overview of Russia, in which the author emphasises its grandeur, whereas in the 17th century ‘the name of the Russians was almost unknown’. Topics covered include physical geography, provincial administration and the population, trade (by land and sea) — with a section devoted specifically to relations between France and Russia —, the government (legislation, policing, education, religion, finance and the banking system, the armed forces), and finally customs and traditions, encompassing both the four social classes (the nobility, the clergy, the bourgeois merchants and the peasants), the six orders of chivalry, music and entertainment, as well as the privileges of the clergy, the Russian language and Russian literature. From now on, ‘this newly celebrated nation’ can only ‘benefit from the turmoil, misfortunes and revolutions of the Western states’. (Quérard, II, 262.)
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About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 1 of 4 – Nos. 1 to 549
Auction location
Auction time 08/19/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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