Russia
[CALENDAR] -
Kalendar ili Mesyatsoslov Istoricheskii na leto ot rozhdestva Gospoda nashego Iisusa Khrista 1729 [Calendar or Historical Almanac for the Year of Our Lord 1729].
Imper. Akad. Nauk, Skt. Peterburg, 1728. 8vo (16.9 x 10.6 cm). Woodcut in text, folding table, some text and diagrams in red; very occasional light spotting,. Later wrappers; some light staining, edges fraying. Provenance: unidentified booklabel; Diaghilev-Lifar (inscription; sold Sotheby's, Monaco, November 1975, lot 209).
The Diaghilev-Lifar copy of one of the earliest calendars. Compiled by Fridrikh Khristofor Maier, the mathematician and astronomer, who in the previous year had produced the first calendar officially published by the Academy of Sciences. This calendar includes a folding table of the times for sunrise and sunset and an engraving of a Zodiac Woman, showing the effects of the celestial bodies on the human body. There is also a nine page section 'On the land of Kamchatka', compiled with reference to the Dutch work by G.F. Miller 'Noord en oost Tartarye' of 1705, amongst the earliest discussions of the region.
Price: £ 5250
US Dollar Price: $ 7610
Stock Number: 77538