Russian silver age, symbolist and avant-garde literature

Babel, I. Zakat. Pyesa [Sunset. A play]. Moscow: Krug, 1928, first edition, original printed boards, extremities rubbed
Blok, A. Poemy [Poems]. Moscow: Pravda, 1940, original printed wrappers, wrappers slightly worn
Blok, A. Dnevnik 1917-1921 [Diary 1917-1921]. Leningrad: Isdatelstvo Pisalelei, 1928, original boards, boards slightly worn
Bulgakov, M. Dyavolnada: rasskazy [Diaboliad]. Moscow: Nedra, 1925, later boards retaining part of original front wrapper, worn internally
Gumilev, N. Ognennyi stolp [The pillar of fire]. Peterburg, 1921, first edition, original printed wrappers
Gumilev, N. Pisma o Russkoi poezii [Letters about Russian poetry]. Petrograd: Mysl, 1923, later black cloth
Gumilev, N. Mik: afrikanskaya poema [African poem]. St Petersburg: Giperborei, 1918, original wrappers, wrappers worn
Mariengof, A. Roman bez vranya [Novel without lies]. Leningrad: Priboi, 1927, original printed wrappers, wrappers worn
Mayakovsky, V. Vse sochinennoe 1909-1919 [All writings 1909-1919]. Peterburg, IMO, 1919, original printed wrappers, wrappers repaired
Nabokov, V. Drugie berega [Other shores]. New York: Chekhov Publishing House, 1954, first edition, orange buckram, original upper wrapper bound in, library stamps
Pasternak, B. Gruzinskie liriki [Georgian lyrics]. [Moscow]: Sovestii Pisatel, 1935, original illustrated blue cloth with pictorial dust-jacket, dust-jacket repaired at edges
Shershenevich, V. Loshad kak loshad [A horse is like a horse]. Moscow: Pleyad, 1920, [The Russian Avant-Garde Book 288], lacking original wrappers, last leaf torn

with 30 others (a few by Tolstoy and Pushkin), together 42 volumes, sold as a collection not subject to return. A full listing is available on request or on www.sothebys.com

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A collection of early editions of many important Russian writers from the first half of the twentieth century, many of whom courted trouble with the Soviet authorities, some of whom were executed during the 1920s and 1930s - Gumilev in 1921, Pilnyak in 1938 and Babel in 1940. Bulgakov's works were censored for a time and Pasternak, though not in direct trouble with the authorities, was made to refuse the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958. Zamyatin was arrested by the imperial authorities for his involvement in the 1905 Revolution and later censored by the Soviet authorities for criticising the state, though he was permitted to leave Russia for the West. Blok is usually considered the supreme symbolist poet, and Mayakovsky, Khlebnikov and Shershenevich were major figures in the avant-garde movement.

Ardov, V. Nekotorye rasskazy. Moscow: Pravda, 1936, original printed boards, boards worn
Averchenko, A. Ninochka. Moscow-Leningrad: Zemlya i Fabrika, 1926, original pictorial wrappers, wrappers slightly worn, lacking lower wrapper
Gabrilovich, E. Chetyre rasskaza. Moscow: Federatsiya, 1932, original wrappers, wrappers creased
Ilf, I. and E. Petrov. Odnoetazhnaya Amerika [One-storeyed America]. Moscow: Sovetskii Pisatel, 1937, original cloth
Ilf, I. and E. Petrov. Poezdki i vstrechi [Journeys and encounters]. Moscow, 1936, original printed wrappers
Ivanov, V. Prometei: tragediya. Peterburg: Alkonost, 1919, original printed wrappers, lacking upper cover, lower cover detached
Ivanov, V. and M.O. Gershenzon. Perepiska iz dvykh uglov. Peterburg: Alkonost, 1921, original printed wrappers
Kasatkin, I. V uezde. Moscow-Leningrad: Zemlya i Fabrika, 1926, original pictorial wrappers
Khlebnikov, V. Neizdannye proizvedeniya. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1940, original cloth
Khlebnikov, V. Sobranie proizvedenii. Leningrad: Izdatelstvo pisatelei, 1930-1933, 5 volumes, original boards, bindings slightly worn
Oleinikov, N. Puchina strastei. Moscow: Prometei, 1990, original printed wrappers
Olesha, Yu. K. 3 Tolstyaka [illustrated by B.I. Kozlinsky]. Moscow: Sovetskii Pisatel, 1935, original black cloth
Oktyabr v poezii. Leningrad: Gosizdat, 1924, lacking wrappers
Pilnyak, B. Smertelnoe manit. Rasskazy. Moscow: Z.I. Grzhebin, 1922, original printed wrappers
Pilnyak, B. Sozrevanie plodov. Moscow: Khudozhestvennaya literatura, 1936, original cloth, ?lacking a preliminary leaf
Polonskaya, E. Novye stikhi 1932-1936. Leningrad: Goslitizdat, 1937, original boards, slightly worn
Pushkin, A.S. Kapitanskaya dochka. Moscow: A.I. Mamontov, 1891, engraved frontispiece portrait, 5 engraved plates, worn, lacking covers
Tolstoy, S.A. Dnevniki S.A. Tolstoi 1897-1909. Moscow: Seber, 1932, original printed boards, lacking lower cover
Tolstoy, L.N. Dnevnik molodosti L.N. Tolstogo. Tom I. 1847-1852. Moscow: I.D. Sytin, 1917, later boards retaining original printed wrappers
Tolstoy, L.N. Skazka ob Ivane durake. Moscow: I.D. Sytin, 1911, original printed wrappers
Tolstoy, L.N. Lyubite drug druga! Moscow: I.D. Sytin, 1911, original printed wrappers, postcard from Yasnaya Polyana dated 1911 loosely inserted
Tolstoy, L.N. Vorov syn. Moscow: Vilde, 1911, original pictorial wrappers
Veresaev, V. K zhizni. Rasskazy. Moscow: Nedra, 1928, original cloth
Zamyatin, E. Na kulichkakh. Povesti i tasskazy [At the world's end]. Petrograd-Moscow: Petrograd, 1923, lacking original wrappers
Zamyatin, E. Uezdnoe. Povesti, teatr [A provincial tale]. Moscow: Federatsiya, 1929, original boards, slightly worn
Zoshchenko, M. Sotsialnaya grust. Leningrad: Begemot, 1927, original pictorial wrappers