THE COSTUME OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, Illustrated by a Series of Seventy-three Engravings. With Descriptions in English and French

First edition. Illustrated with 73 hand-colored stipple engravings, text in both English and French. Folio, bound in contemporary full blue straight-grain morocco, gilt lettered in two panels, richly decorated in gilt in the remaining three and on the bands; the covers, with a fine gilt dentelle border enclosing a blind-tooled border, gilt turn-ins, a.e.g. 73 plates and 73 text leaves, the text is in English on the recto and French on the verso. A very handsome copy with just light rubbing to the binding. The plates are fine and clean. With the engraved bookplate of Hugh Cecil Earl of Lonsdale.

Edizione: a beautiful book and scarce now. abbey records a copy printed for miller by s. gosnell and states that "the cat. russica records what it calls another edition in 1803, and an edition printed by howlett and brimmer in 1803, but other references to these have not been found"<br> the others in the series were the punishments of china, the costume of turkey, the costume of austria, and the costume of great britain. for a full account of the series see abbey travel 533. the plates for this book are closely copies but somewhat enlarged from a book by j. g. georgi published by müller in st. petersburg, four volumes quarto, in 1776-80, under the patronage of the empress.