COLLECTORS’ BOOKS
Lines Framed in Luxury
The book is the best present. Expensive collectors’ leather-bound books are also a sign of high esteem and a compliment to exceptional taste. A selection of works by Russian and foreign authors, iconic editions and masterpieces of folklore in a luxurious frame will help to find a proper present for a bibliophile.
The best gift for an esthete
With limited editions of 50-100 copies, all of the books in the catalog are hand-made. This is a win-win gift for those who have everything, making a very special impression on the person receiving the gift. Each edition is an art object in itself.
Literary writings, scientific works, biographies, collected works, fairy tales, reference books, religious literature – the choice of genres will allow you to choose a gift book for anyone. The catalog has publications for lawyers, historians, psychologists, educators, PR people, financial professionals, politicians, people with unusual hobbies and connoisseurs of rare, exclusive things.
Clad in Italian leather, with gilt edge, goffering, silk ribbon bookmarks, high-quality printing, the books are perfect in every detail. Everything is done so that they are a pleasure to hold and to read. An ivory tone was specially chosen for the top-class designer paper, ensuring that the eyes do not get tired when reading.
Balance of form and content
Collectors’ book is an exquisite item that harmoniously combines magnificent form and priceless content. Glossy pages revive the history of antiquity, unravel intricate plots, and reveal philosophical truths.
Historical novels, photo-tours of St. Petersburg, military guides of great commanders, the wisdom of Nietzsche and Spinoza, witty stories by Chekhov, history from ironic Churchill, Gothic tales of Hoffmann, psychoanalytic etudes by Lombrose – a brilliant range of precious thoughts will make you think long and hard about which one to choose. But whichever your choice may be, it will delight the recipient of a valuable gift.
The icing on the cake is that these books are no longer published, and the person who receives the book as a gift becomes the exclusive owner of one of a hundred of copies. The fly page of each edition has a hand-written number of the book in the limited edition.
Gifts of such scale accentuate your special attitude to the recipient. Being an adornment to a home library, an expensive gift book reminds of a solemn day when it was presented.
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From the Dossiers of the Secret Office, Alexander Arsenyev
The compilation work of the 19th century historian Alexander Arsenyev (1818 – 1872) contains stories and essays from the judicial practice of the Preobrazhensky Department and the Secret Office. Everything in it is based on real cases and the judicial practice of secret investigative institutions of the 18 – mid 19th centuries, from Peter the 1st to Paul the 1st. The book even includes stories about women involved in the Pugachev rebellion. At the same time, the book is read easily and with pleasure, with archive documents interspersed with colourful descriptions of the mores of that era and vernacular vocabulary. Irrefutable facts coexist with humor, sarcasm and glimpses of national epic. The reader learns a lot not only in terms of historical facts, but also a great deal about the values of ancestors.
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The Science of Winning by Alexander Suvorov
This legendary work by Generalissimo of the Russian Army Alexander Suvorov (1730 – 1800), written in 1795 after the suppression of the Polish revolt, comprises the commander’s invaluable warfare considerations and instructions. In his commander’s carrier, Alexander Suvorov didn’t lose a day, time an again he zapped the outnumbered hostile armies. He is well-known for his caring for soldiers, including his participation in development of the new hard wearing uniform. The edition includes several parts (Watch Parade and Talking to Soldiers in Their Language), and is believed to be a literary monument of the Russian military thought. In this book, which was used to educate several generations of commanders, Suvorov explained his views on soldier training and tactics. This book doesn’t just reveal the strategic secrets – it also touches on ethic aspects of the war, starting with unneeded murders and ending with the call for taking care of ordinary people.
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Napoleon and His Women Friends by Gertrude Kircheisen
We know Napoleon Bonaparte as a gifted diplomat, outstanding politician, and ingenious commander. A German historian Gertrude Kircheisen invites the reader to get to know the Emperor as a person of fine mind and strong will, a person that managed to keep balance in the epicenter of intrigues and passions. The author tells about Napoleon’s victories and defeats on the dating front.
“They say Napoleon was lascivious, but it is groundless and unfair. Indeed, Napoleon wasn’t deprived of weaknesses and mistakes. He had mistresses and adulterized, and made other people to do so. On his way, he slipped off many flowers, which he later scornfully abandoned. However, even the Sun has spots. Napoleon was great enough to have his right to make mistakes. Weaknesses and mistakes alone aren’t lasciviousness yet.
We need to understand another important thing: Napoleon took everything a woman could give him, but he never yielded to her. There definitely wasn’t ever any spiritual commonality, or we would have seen a woman that managed to rise up to his level…”
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Economic Failures by Vasily Kokorev
“It is time that the national idea started to pursuit economics beyond Russia and foul the native ground with invasive replanting; it is high time that we came back home and came to know all the power of our people, in the absence of true connection with which economic arrangements will never become coordinated with the needs of our people,” the author writes. A brilliant businessman and patron of 60 to 70s of the 19th century, Vasily Kokorev (1817 – 1889) always surprised his contemporaries with his original mind and large-scale schemes. His most important work concludes his reasoning about traditionalism, the national spirit, patriotism, and the appeal for abandoning bureaucracy and copying of the West and turning to the pursuit of our own economic basics.
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The Wonders of Science, Louis Figuier
“The biography of luminaries of science … is entertaining for every audience,” – says the author of the book “The Wonders of Science”, which became one of the first collections of stories about the lives of great scientists. French writer and naturalist of the 19th century, Louis Figuier (1819 – 1894) tells the story of the great scientists – from antiquity to his era, from philosophical treatises era through the industrial revolution to the modern world. Most of the names that appear on the pages of the book are well known to the educated reader. A beautiful gift edition of three volumes will be a worthy addition on the shelves of a bibliophile and the personal collection of any intelligent person.
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A History of the Rod, William M. Cooper
A true rarity, “A History of the Rod” published in 1870 is an ultimate dream of many bibliophiles published nowadays. This book has only been issued in Russia twice or thrice. And that is hardly surprising, as it is dedicated to flagellation, or scourging, a subject unusual for a modern reader.
There is little known about the life of its author, a Swedish historian and writer James Glass Bertram (1824 – 1892), who wrote this book under the pseudonym of Doctor Cooper. However, it is hardly disputable that he created one of the most extraordinary works ever. This gift book will make an interesting gift for a doctor, a lawyer, a historian, or a connoisseur of rare editions.
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Some Thoughts Concerning Education, John Locke
“Men’s happiness or misery is most part of their own making,” wrote John Locke (1632 – 1704), an English philosopher, enlightener, and a politician, one of the founders of the empirical-sensational theory of perception. He took the liberty of disputing the theory of innate ideas, and in 1693 his book opposed it to the concept of experience as the basis for knowledge. It has become one of the bases for the today’s system of educational concepts. Tastefully designed deluxe edition of “Some Thoughts Concerning Education” will become a table-top book for educators and psychologists.
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Hunting in the Russian Prose, a collected edition
Hunting has found a multifaceted reflection in the Russian classics. Aksakov, Nekrasov, Turgenev, Fet, Sumarokov, Derzhavin, Paustovsky, Prishvin – they share a hunting experience not only in literature, but also in real life. Even Pushkin, who was not a hunter, devoted pages of his writing to this subject. In each such work two worlds invariably collide: nature and man. And then there comes their confrontation or the miracle of alliance. The collector’s edition “Hunting in the Russian Prose” invites the reader to plunge into this unfamiliar world, outside the home and city, to forget for a while about their worries. The book will be an excellent trophy for the avid hunter and will delight the connoisseur of the Russian classics.
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Letters Concerning the English Nation, Voltaire
The book with a rich design will not only become a worthy adornment of a private library, but will also allow you to get an insight into the entire range of philosophical views of François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire) (1694 – 1778), of whom Pushkin himself wrote: “every line written by him comes as a treasure for posterity”. Letters Concerning the English Nation encloses the most important treatises and dialogues and new translations of articles from the Philosophical Dictionary. Voltaire began working on the book at the end of 1727, while being in England, but the most important thoughts were contributed the return to his homeland in 1729. The later additions to the book are dated late 1732.
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The World Crisis, Winston Churchill
A talented person is talented in everything, and the bright example to that is Sir Winston Churchill (1874 – 1965), a sensational politician, one of the most peculiar historic figures, and an outstanding writer. A true legend, an ingenious intellectual, he left many unique books, memoirs, and researches to the future generations, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1953. “The World Crisis” is a rather representative sample of his work. This sharp-witted book covers the Versailles Treaty development, demobilization of the British army, description of the post-water situations in the major empires, along with intervention and support provided to White armies. Graphic and to some extent acrid style as if revives long-gone events and reveals new facts. This book enclosed in a valuable cover will make a perfect gift for a well-educated person.
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The Man of Genius, Cesare Lombroso
How does talent affect the human psyche? Is there any connection between genius and mental illness? Is genius a gift or a disease? You will find the answers to these questions in the book “Genius and Insanity” by the outstanding Italian psychiatrist and criminologist Cesare Lombroso (1835 – 1909), which remains a bestseller since 1863. Having devoted his life to studying the nature of madness and the psychology of a criminal, the author traced the connection between genius and mental anomalies that are revealed under the pressure of environmental conditions. Lombroso diagnoses Aristotle, Rousseau, Hoffmann, Schopenhauer, Mozart, Van Gogh, Gogol, Newton, Goethe and other great people, pointing out the observable similarity in them.
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The Psychology of Peoples & The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, Gustave Le Bon
All the major leaders and rulers used to engross themselves in “The Psychology of Peoples” and “The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind”: Lenin, Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini. The books comprised one of the first and top rank concepts of the mass society, developed by Gustave Le Bon (1841 – 1931), a French psychologist, sociologist, anthropologist, and historian. The author stated his conclusions on the race and crowd psychology, which he made during his journeys, at the same time considering the group psychology as a behavior motivation and reasons behind historic events. In Russia, both works were published together. Now, enclosed in a worthy cover of a collectors’ edition, they can make a perfect gift for a successful politician, an advertisement expert, or a public person.
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Russian electrical engineering of the second half of the 19th century, Mikhail Shatelen
To the uninitiated reader, the book “Russian electrical engineering of the second half of the nineteenth century” may seem uninteresting. However unduly so. Its author, Mikhail Andreevich Shatelen (1866 – 1957), describes not only the largest Russian electrical engineers, but also facts, inventions and discoveries, many of which he personally witnessed. The entire second half of the 19th century went down in history as a period of rapid growth in electrical engineering. It was during this period that the foundations were laid for the development of the national economic life of the whole world. The gift edition will appeal to people who are genuinely interested in science and technology.
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The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
An enigmatic, mystical, ironic, ageless novel – the principal work of Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (1891 – 1940). The immortal work brings together eras and generations. There are heroes of biblical stories, “dark forces” and Moscow of the 30s of the XX century. The book astonished the Soviet reader of the 60s, as it is admired by the modern youth. It is widely known, and is often quoted. Extraordinary conception, colourful narration, fantastic plot, witty turns of phrase – everything is fused in perfect harmony. “What could I have written after “the Master … ”?” Bulgakov himself reasoned shortly before his death. Genuine leather binding, press gilding, expensive paper – a worthy mounting for an iconic work, a tribute to the genius and talent of the author.
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On War, Carl von Clausewitz
“War is a continuation of politics by other, violent means,” – asserts the Prussian officer Carl von Clausewitz (1780 – 1831). He worked on the famous treatise On War half of his life – from 1816 till his death in 1831. The work was not completed, and was published by the widow Clausewitz. The book had an enormous influence on military leaders of the 19-20th centuries and had made a revolution in the theory of war. Criticizing many military events, the author pays much attention to politics and its influence on the course of the war, as well as the dependence of the outcome on the personal qualities of politicians and military leaders. A collector’s edition, it will be a perfect gift to a person who has to make crucial decisions.
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The Art of Arguments in Court, Pyotr Porokhovshchikov
First published in the early 20th century, the book retains its uniqueness a century on. Its author, the famous Russian lawyer Pyotr Porokhovshchikov (1867 – 1954), had his works published under the pen-name P. Sergeich. He was the author of a plethora of works on judicial eloquence and criminal defence, it was he who translated Hints on Advocacy by Richard Harris. But The Art of Arguments in Court is his main work. A barrister, and, incidentally, any lawyer in general, becomes an orator in court. And the book teaches accuracy and simplicity of speech and eloquence, rhetoric expression and the ways to look for truth. Its content is rich in observations and examples, and the design will satisfy any esthete.
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The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
Before you is the work of life of the ancient Roman historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (ca. 70 AD – ca. 126 AD). He wrote it when being the secretary of the emperor Hadrian. The book is a collection of biographies of Julius Caesar and the eleven first Roman princeps – from Augustus to Domitian. Instead of listing military campaigns or government reforms of emperors, which is common for this genre, Suetonius collected anecdotes from the life of the rulers, described their appearance, habits, details of their personal life. And although the first pages of the book are irretrievably lost, and the biographies do not follow the chronology, the work became significant for the world history. It is this work that is the primary source and an inspiration behind a greater part of famous stories and plots: about Caligula’s horse, the actor’s exercises of Nero, Vespasian’s expression “money does not smell” and many others.
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Ethnographic description of the peoples of Russia, Gustave Theodor Pauly
Gustave Theodor Pauly (1817 – 1867), a Russian ethnographer of the 19th century, a member of the Russian Geographical Society, although a German by birth, was known as Fyodor Khristianovich. His work Les peuples de la Russie is a series of ethnographic essays. They describe different aspects of life of various social classes. The people described in the book are representatives of the Indo-European, Caucasian, Ural-Altai peoples, inhabitants of Siberia and Russian America. In cooperation with Pauly, famous scientists and artists worked on the book to furnish it with chromolithographs, many of them being colourful everyday scenes drawn from life.
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Warriors Saint, a collected edition
This book is a collection of stories about great orthodox saints, martyrs, and accomplishers of feats of arms and spiritual endeavors. This book is a source of inspiration and admiration of buoyancy, heroism, valor and self sacrifices of the orthodox warriors. Alexander Nevsky, George the Victorious, Michael of Chernigov, Michael of Tver – the reader is familiar with all of these names, but the pages reveal their images completely, providing descriptions of their lives and beliefs, feats and testaments. This edition lifts the veil over the secrets of the past, impersonating morality in our brave ancestors.
This book in a luxurious leather cover will become a gem of any library.
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Imperial Petersburg, Felix Lurie
One of the best editions on the history of the construction of St. Petersburg that contains a story about how Peter the Great built the city. How he dreamed of living in a city surrounded by water, how, during the preparation for the Northern War, he found in old Swedish maps a winding Neva delta, as he was looking for the best architects. The book by Felix Lurie contains reproductions of works by Russian and Western masters of the 18th and 19th centuries, depicting the new capital. The illustrations are given according to the topographical principle and are accompanied by information about the buildings that stood earlier and were planned to be buit in future.
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The Will to Power, Friedrich Nietzsche
“The Will to Power” is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900), nearly iconic and believed to be his most important work, although it is an edition comprising the author’s notes published by his sister. Quite literally, one can say that this work produced almost every modern school of thought. Calling the morality of the day false, Nietzsche associated will to power with will to live. He saw it as the major impetus and the prime human ability. The will to power – this is the basis of the world, the most internal essence of existence. The author calls to radical reappraisal of cultural, philosophic, and religious values.
This gift book is intended for a Superman, powerful, strong, successful, having a will to succeed.
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Goya, or the Hard Way of Knowledge, Lion Feuchtwanger
Lion Feuchtwanger (1884 – 1958) believed he could write the book in a year and a half, but eventually it took him seven years to finish the work. The novel, first published in 1951, narrates the life of the Spanish painter Francisco Goya from 1793 till 1806. The book introduces the reader to the historical and political events of the time: the plot unfolds in Spain of the 18th century, during the reign of King Carlos the 4th. The Inquisition is still keeping the enlightened Spanish intelligentsia in fear. Against the backdrop of raging passions, an alarming romantic story unfolds between the court painter Goya and Duchess Alba, who belongs to one of the oldest noble families in Spain. Apart from that, he finds himself entangled in intrigues at the court, and against his will is drawn into the political games of power. Although the novel is an independent work, the author did not consider the topic exhausted and shortly before his death, he returned to the idea of the second part on the life of Goya in France from 1814 till 1828, but this idea was not destined to be implemented.
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Little Zaches, Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann
There are fairy tales for adults, and an immortal classical example of that is Little Zaches, nicknamed Zinnober by the German writer Ernst Theodore Amadeus Hoffmann (1776 – 1822). Full of irony, the book tells the story of the author’s epoch, it describes the ugliness of absolutism, loyalty of contemporaries, bare lawlessness. The protagonist is grotesquely ridiculous, ugly and stupid, but the merciful fairy Rosabelverde endowed him with a unique ability. Whatever good happens in the presence of Zaches – it is always attributed to him, and any shameful thing done by him goes to someone else’s account. Everyone bows to Zaches, he rises as high as to become a minister. But the magician Prosper Alpanus turns up to help a young student Balthazar to remove the spell and expose the truth to ordinary people.
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The Spirit of the Laws, Charles-Louis de Montesquieu
A brilliant connoisseur of history, theory of law and the state, an outstanding founder of the geographical school and sociology, the author of the doctrine on the separation of powers, Charles Louis de Montesquieu (1689 – 1755) influenced the content of the US Constitution and constitutional legislation of the French Revolution of 1804. His book The Spirit of the Laws tells us: a person is governed by natural laws, but as a rational being constantly violates them, and this results in the need for state laws. The tastefully made volume will adorn the bookshelves of a lawyer, a politician, or any bibliophile.
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Main Problems of Civil Law, Iosif Pokrovsky
Well-informed people agree that “Main Problems of Civil Law” is one of the most bright and significant works for the Russian civil law. Professor Iosif Pokrovsky (1868 – 1920), a Russian legal expert, answers the key questions of the law science that generations of masterminds have been tackling. The author displays a tight connection of the global civil law history and Russia’s civil law, demonstrating not only his professionalism, but deep insights in regard to the problem. Significance of this book can hardly be overestimated. It is definitely worthy its valuable collectors’ cover, and any lawyer or legal expert will gladly enrich their home library with this book.
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