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Svin’in P.P. Domestic remarkable sights or
Description of Russian Historical Monuments and Extraordinary
Creatures of Nature, Sciences and applied Arts in Russia. Parts
I-IV, an album from 11 engravings on copper. Moscow, the edition of
the Commission agent of Imperial Moscow University A.S. Shiryaev, in
the University printing house, 1823. In-12°.
Part the first: IV, 220 p.p.
Part the second: IV, 222 p.p.
Part the third: 242, II p.p.
Part the fourth: 262, [2], p.p.
5 vols. The text in 4 th brown half morocco with a gold lettering on
spine and an album of engravings on copper by remarkable Russian
engraver A. Florov after
 P.P.Svin’in. Contemporary fine French red
morocco, richly gilt on both covers and borders from the inside. A
copy from library of Russian Empress Aleksandra Fedorovna. Very rare
edition!
Empress Alexandra Fedorovna (1798 - 1860). She was a daughter of
Prussian King Frederick William III, born in Charlottenburg on July
01, 1798. Her maiden name was Princess Fredericka Louise Charlotte
Wilhelmina. In 1817, she married Crown Prince Nicholas Pavlovich,
further Emperor Nicholas I. Since 1825 Empress Alexandra Fedorovna was
the patroness of charitable institutions and schools for women. She
held several libraries with excellent collections.
Everything - shy modesty
Under shining crown
and childish liveliness
and greatness of face
and deep feeling in features
With peaceful silence -
Everything in her was artless
Unspeakable beauty.
V. A. Zhukovskiy, «Lalla Rukh» by W. Hensel, Berlin, 1823.
She died in Tsarskoe Selo on October 20, 1860 and was buried at St.
Peter and Pavel Cathedral in Saint Petersburg.
A label, engraved, 55x55 mm, cut by frame, printed in fine paper,
artist N. I. Utkin, made in 1827.
In tetralinear frame, shaded in right and bottom, with corner
ornamental decorations, an oval in bilinear frame. There is the
imperial crown in the oval over two shields with the national emblems
of Russia and Prussia, AF monogram between the shields; eagle's head
in the left (Prussian) emblem looking to the left by mistake.
N. P. Smirnov-Sokolskiy, who liked Svin'in and his books very much,
wrote about him:
Pavel Petrovich Svin'in (1788-1839), a writer, journalist, and artist.
From 1818 to 1830, he published magazine Homeland Notes, which then
was succeeded by A. A. Kraevskiy. Being fond of art and old monuments,
he collected a lot of valuable manuscripts and old books, many good
paintings by Russian artists (Venetsianov, Kiprenskiy, Shebuev,
Shchedrin, and others), which comprised his Russian Museum.
«Svin'in was a collector all his life, - D. D. Obolenskiy reminded. -
Whatever he held!» (Russian Archives, 1895, volume 3, pages 360 to
363).
Svin'in studied at the Moscow Noble Boarding School. His works often
appeared in the anthologies of students at this boarding school
(Morning Dawn, Selected Works and Translations in Prose and Verses).
His verses were printed also in anthology Collection of Russian Poems
(1810 - 1815) by V. A. Zhukovskiy. Having finished the boarding school
and tending to art, Svin'in entered the Academy of Arts. He
demonstrated no significant talents but made some trace in this field
by skilful landscapes and everyday life pictures. (As a painter,
Svin'in is characterised most fully by A. F. Korostin (1903 - 1957) in
his excellent book Beginning of Lithography in Russia (Moscow, 1953,
pages 59, 62, 63, etc.): «As a writer, Svin'in is often referred to as
an ethnographic writer; to the same extent he can be referred to as an
ethnographic artist. The years of wandering in America and England ...
were soon changed with endless travels in Russia ... In addition to
essays, each trip resulted in albums of drawings and water colours. At
that time, no traveller had a photo camera. Instead it Svin'in had an
eager interest to sightseeing, skill of art and exclusive ability to
fix what he saw in any regions of Russia: nature, everyday life,
handicrafts, types, works, towns and estates, factories and plants.
Svin'in is not a great artist» but he could tell lively and clearly
with his pencils and paints. In his youth Svin'in spent several years
abroad and worked as a secretary at the Russian consulate in
Philadelphia. His impressions, which were not characterised with depth
but certainly evidenced his power of observation, were described in
his books: «Picturesque United States of America…» (Saint Petersburg,
1814), An Experience of Voyage pittoresque in North America (two
issues in Saint Petersburg, 1815 and 1818), Daily Notes in London
(Saint Petersburg, 1817).
Returning to Russia, he studied the past history of Russian nation and
dedicated a series of his new works to description of the homeland
memorable places. The most valuable of his books are «Description des
objets les plus remarquables de Saint Petersburg et de ses environs»
(five parts, Saint Petersburg, 1816 - 1828) and «Domestic remarkable
sights or Description of Russian Historical Monuments and
Extraordinary Creatures of Nature, Sciences and applied Arts in
Russia» (parts I - IV, Moscow, issued by Moscow Imperial University
Commissioner A. S. Shiryaev at University Printing House, 1823). He
also wrote such a good book as «Sketches of Russia and Everyday Life
of Its Different Peoples» (part I, Saint Petersburg, 1839).
Svin'in wrote several biographies of Russian self-educated common
people of natural gifts. In particular, he was the first biographer of
Ivan Kulibin, whose biography then took an important part in the
literature about this excellent Russian mechanical engineer of XVIII
century. This book is still a desired dream of most collectors. P. P.
Svin'in is one of few Russian artists, who had the honour of being
published abroad: in England and America (Philadelphia).
Reference literature:
1. Smirnov-Sokol’skii, Biblioteka, vol. I, p.p. 424-427.
2. N.V. Solovyov’s antique-shop. Catalogue №105 «Livres Rares», №284,
25 roubles (9 plts. only).
3.N.B. «Livres Rares», №211.
4. N. Obol’yaninov, «Russian Illustrated Books», №1966.
5. V.A. Vereshcagin «Russian Illustrated Books», №643. |
