Andreev, Leonid Nikolaevich (1871 - 1919) Tsar´ Golod. Predstavlenie v piati kartinakh s prologom. Risunki E[vgeniia] Lansere. [St Petersburg,] ‘Shipovnik’, 1908. 127 p., with folding engraved frontispiece and 7 illustrations in text by E. Lansere, + 8ll. advertisements. €475
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8 vo, a very good copy, uncut in the original illustrated wrappers by Lansere [Lanceray].

Lanceray´s folding frontispiece (240mmx430mm) was removed in many copies by 'brakers' or print collectors. Very few copies with frontispiece intact survived. Evgenii Lanceray belonged to 'Benois Clan'. He was a son of Alexander Benois´sister Alexandra Nikolaevna.

First edition of this play by one of the most popular writers in Russia during the first decade of the 20th century.
'Andreev’s fame ‘was almost on a par with that of Chekhov and Gorky. The fact remains that his talent and topical themes, his literary techniques combining tradition and modernism, the boldness of his imagination, and a captivating sketchiness of thought in dealing with complex moral-psychological and philosophical problems, endeared him to a significant segment of the intelligentsia and made him consonant with the times. And though the readership and that epoch are gone forever, some of Andreev’s characteristics, particularly his obvious talent, ensure for him a permanent place in Russian literature' (Victor Terras).Kilgour 33.

Lanceray was born in Pavlovsk.He came from a prominent Russian artistic family.Evgenii Lanceray belonged to 'Benois Clan'. He was a son of Alexander Benois´sister Alexandra Nikolaevna. His father was a distinguished sculptor.His grandfather Nicholas Benois, and his uncle Leon Benois, were celebrated architects. His great-grandfather was the Venetian-born Russian composer Catterino Cavos. Lanceray's siblings were also heirs to this artistic tradition. His sister, Zinaida Serebriakova, was a painter, while his brother Nikolai was an architect.

Lanceray took his first lessons at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St. Petersburg, 1892–1896. He then traveled to Paris, where he continued his studies at the Académie Colarossi and Académie Julian between 1896 and 1899.

The only intact copy known to cataloger appeared on antiquarian market in the last 25 years is Bernard Quaritch Ltd ABA ILAB´copy offered for sale some years ago.

NOT in MOMA, GETTY, BPL
See: Pistunova, Aleksandra. Khadzhi - Murat // Al´manakh bibliofila. M., 1982, p.201 - 225, Bio-bibliograficheskii slovar´ khudozhnikov narodov SSSR