OBSHCHII GERBOVNIK DVORYANSKIKH RODOV VSEROSSIISKIYA IMPERII, ST PETERSBURG, [1798]-1840, 10 VOLUMES

10 volumes, folio (330 x 265mm.), 10 engraved title-pages, 1562 engraved armorials, 2 folding engraved genealogical tables (one each in volumes 1 and 2), contemporary paper wrappers (some marbled, some blue), UNCUT, occasional damp-staining and foxing, slight soiling to some page edges, all 3 section titles to volume 4 lacking and supplied in manuscript facsimile, plates 125, 134 and 145 in volume 4 loose and repaired in gutter, plates 51-55 in volume 8 torn and repaired, wrappers worn, some loose, sewing defective resulting in some loose leaves

Trosterman (?), library stamp on lower cover of volume 2 (and removed from the half-title and folding plate in volume 2); AW, ink monogram stamp on title-page of volume 6; Peter, Freiherr von Giovanelli, armorial bookplate in each volume; by family descent

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."

THE MONUMENTAL RECORD OF RUSSIAN HERALDRY. An office of heraldry had been established in 1722 by Peter the Great, and in 1797, Paul I commissioned a record of the arms of Russian nobles in line with the tradition of western European publications such as the Almanach de Gotha. It was produced across the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I, with volumes 1-4 appearing in the first decade of the nineteenth century and volumes 5-10 during the 1830s (as can be seen from the different appearance of the volumes). An eleventh volume was printed much later, in 1862, and the work was originally designed to have 18 volumes (manuscripts of these later volumes survive in the State Archives of St Petersburg). As the publication took so many years, IT IS RARE TO FIND SO MANY VOLUMES TOGETHER. We have found no recent sale records for a set as complete as this. A modern edition with translation into English was published in 1992 (Russian Heraldry and Nobility, edited by Donald R. Mandich and Joseph A. Placek, Florida, 1992), though without illustrations.