NEW YORK, June 26 (RIA Novosti) - Auction house Bonhams is to offer a selection of rare Russian books at auction in New York City on Wednesday, reports Art Daily.
Highlights of Russian Literature and Works on Paper will include a signed copy of Anton Chekhov’s “Stories and Tales” inscribed by Chekhov to a waiter at the Grand Hotel in Moscow, which is expected to reach $25,000-$35,000. Also on offer will be a signed edition of the complete works of the classical poet Gavrila Derzhavin, published in St. Petersburg between 1808 and 1816. Derzhavin is considered by many to be the greatest Russian poet before Alexander Pushkin.
This is Bonhams second auction of Russian rarities following the success of the inaugural Russian Literature Auction in December 2012. The auction will also feature works by giants of the Russian avant-garde, including publications by the revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky, and the radical stage director Vsevelod Meyerhold, executed by Stalin in 1940.
