Russia
MANSTEIN, [Christoff Herman von].
Memoirs of Russia, Historical, Political, and Military, from the Year MDCCXXVII to MDCCXLIV. [...] With a Supplement, Containing a Summary Account of the State of the Military, the Marine, the Commerce, etc. of that Great Empire.
T. Becket and P. A. de Hondt, London, 1770. 4to (25.5 x 20 cm). viii-424-[8] pp., with 3 folding maps and 7 folding plans; marginal waterstain towards the end. Modern black morocco gilt on covers, flat spine lettered in gilt.
FIRST EDITION OF THE MOST INFORMATIVE ACCOUNT OF RUSSIA OF ITS TIME, edited by David Hume. Prussian General Manstein came from a Bohemian family settled in Prussia. He took service with the Russian Court, served in the Crimea and participated in the campaigns of 1737-39 against the Turks. In 1751 he circulated the manuscript of his Russian experiences. Voltaire had also previewed the work and it later formed a large part of Frederick the Great's "Russia" (NDB xvi, pg. 83). The work describes the Turkish and Swedish campaigns, and gives information about the Russian Court at the time of Empress Anna (daughter of Peter the Great who reigned from 1730-40 with apparently some success). Among the folding maps is one of the Crimean peninsular including the Black Sea, one of the Finnish coast from Wyborg to Helsingfors and a plan of Dantzig with the fortress of Weichselmuendung. German and French editions were published the following year.
Price: £ 700
US Dollar Price: $ 1390
Stock Number: 73237