HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566) - photo 1
HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566) - photo 2
HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566) - photo 3
HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566) - photo 4
HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566) - photo 5

HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566)

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£ 6 930
Auction dateClassic
14.12.2022 10:30UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
CHRISTIE'S
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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ID 870846
Lot 121 | HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566)
HERBERSTEIN, Sigismund Von (1486-1566)

Comentari della Moscovia et parimente della Russia, & delle altre cose belle & notabili. Venice: Niccolò Bascarini e Giovanni Battista Pederzano, 1550.

First Italian edition – and the earliest issue obtainable – of the first western account of Russia, which formed European impressions of the Muscovite Empire for several centuries. Herberstein’s work is remarkable as being a rare first-hand account of early 16th-century Muscovy and for containing considerable information not available elsewhere. Born in the Slovenian town of Vipava, in the Hapsburg Empire, Herberstein was knighted by Emperor Maximilian I in 1514, and served as a diplomat of the Holy Roman Empire in the following thirty years. Herberstein visited Russia as ambassador in 1517-1518 and in 1526-1527, to negotiate a peace treaty between King Sigismund I of Poland and the Russian Tsar Vasily III (1479-1533), eldest son of Ivan III. With access to many documents, and a careful review of the existing literature, Herberstein succeeded in producing the first detailed account of Muscovy, covering its geography, trade, religion, customs, history and Russian politics. The first edition was published in Latin in 1549, and is unobtainable – the last copy we can trace on the market was with H.P. Kraus in 1957. This Italian edition published in 1550 is the earliest obtainable edition, and features a new map of Muscovy by Giacomo Gastaldi, a thorough reworking of the map by Hirschvogel that appeared in the first edition. The 6 fine full-page woodcut illustrations depict the Russian army with weapons and horses, a charming scene of sleighing and skiing on ice, and a portrait of the Grand Duke of Muscovy. BM STC Italian, 325; Graesse, III, 245; Nordenskiöld III, 493; Gastaldi map: Karrow 30/68.



Quarto (205 x 148 mm). Ff. [8], 90, [4]. Large woodcut armorial device on title, folding map of Russia by Giacomo Gastaldi, 6 full-page woodblock plates (map expertly restored with three tears each approx. 50-60mm in length skilfully repaired with only insignificant loss and a couple of tiny holes at junctions of old creasefolds, some faint spotting to the map and adjacent leaves, otherwise the textblock clean). 19th-century olive-green morocco by Bedford, covers panelled with single gilt and double blind fillets with small fleuron cornerpieces, gilt spine, turn-ins and edges (extremities faintly rubbed). Provenance: illegible early inscription to title and early marginal annotation to A4v – Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929, Prime Minister 1894-1895; bookplate).





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No VAT on hammer price or buyer's premium.
Place of origin:Italy, Europe
Category:Printed book
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
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10.12.2022 – 13.12.2022
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