Beschreibung:

[PUSHKIN, Alexander (1799-1837)]. Poljarnaja Zvezda…na 1823 god. [Polar Star…for the year 1823]. St Petersburg: V. Grech, 1823. [with] Poljarnaja Zvezda…na 1824 god. [Polar Star…for the year 1824]. [with] Poljarnaja Zvezda…na 1824 god. [Polar Star…for the year 1824]. [with] Poljarnaja Zvezda…na 1825 god. [Polar Star…for the year 1825]. St Petersburg: General Military Press, 1824 and 1825. The rare complete set of ‘the best literary almanac of Pushkin’s time’ (Smirnov-Sokol’skii). Edited by the authors and Decembrists A. Bestuzhev and K. Ryleev, the almanac appeared in three volumes under this title, inspired by the literary evenings which Ryleev organised in the early days of his poetic career. Although the editors’ ideals did not reflect the neoclassicism of Pushkin’s followers, celebrated in the competing almanac Severnye Tsvety , Poljarnaja Zvezda hosted important works by Zhukovsky, Griboedov and Pushkin himself, including excerpts from Kavkaskij Plennik , and the poems ‘Grechanke’, ‘Elegija’, and ‘Ovidiju’. The almanac’s revolutionary political stance led to the confiscation of the manuscript for the final 1826 issue after the anti-Tsarist revolt of 14 December 1825. Smirnov-Sokol’skii, Moia biblioteka , 1446, 1447, 1447, 1448; Al’manakhi , 247, 255, 255, 269; Pushkin , 58. V. Terras, Handbook of Russian Literature , p. 349. 4 volumes, octavo and duodecimo (1: 150 x 110mm; 2-3: 125 x 90mm; 4: 115 x 80mm). All with engraved titles, (1: engraved title and first leaf slightly browned, both probably supplied, lower margin of one leaf trimmed, its lower corner torn, with small repair to verso, occasional spotting or thumb marks, small hole to blank margin of one leaf, edges softened); 2: with 5 plates and folding music table (pp. 318-19 probably supplied, engraved title, first and last few leaves a bit soiled, occasional mainly marginal spotting, outer edge of two leaves a trifle frayed, plates trimmed at margins); 3: with 5 plates and folding music table (small ink burn to blank margin of one leaf, occasional spotting, few clean tears from outer edge of four leaves); 4: with 2 plates (last leaf detached, scattered ink splashes, occasional spotting, title soiled, first four leaves strengthened at gutter). 1-2 and 4 in 19th-century and 3 in modern binding: 1: sprinkled calf, rebacked with original spine onlaid, boards with blind-tooled floral frame, spine gilt (minor repair to extremities); 2: half sheep, marbled boards, spine gilt (joints repaired, spine sunned, boards a bit rubbed); 3: modern half sheep, marbled boards, spine gilt (upper hinge detached, a bit rubbed); 4: marbled boards, later endpapers, gilt-lettered spine (joints cracked, extremities rubbed). Provenance : 1: stamp M17 (bookseller’s label).