The Tsar and His People Or Social Life in Russia, 1891 First Edition. 

Size: 9 7/16 X 7 1/4 X 1 in. 

This book is titled The Tsar and His People, Or Social Life in Russia, written by Eugène Melchior de Vogüé and several others, it’s a first edition, second printing published by Harper  & Brothers in 1891, and we know it’s a first edition second printing because it is dated 1891 on the title page and 1890 on the copyright page. The book offers a unique perspective on Russian society during the late 19th century. It provided insights into the relationship between the Tsar, the aristocracy, and the common people, shedding light on the social structures and tensions within the Russian Empire. It examined the Tsar's role as the supreme authority, the divine right of kings, and the impact of Tsarist rule on different aspects of Russian life, and it explored the growing divide between the elite and the peasantry, the emergence of new social classes, and the pressures for change and reform in the country. The first two chapters were written by De Vogue, Theodore Child wrote the next five chapters, Clarence Cook wrote the eighth chapter, and Vassili Verestchagin, a famed Russian war artist, wrote the last chapter. Vicomte Eugène Melchior de Vogüé (1848 - 1910) was a French diplomat, Orientalist, travel writer, archaeologist, and literary critic. Born in Nice, France, he served in the Franco-Prussian War, and when the war ended, he entered the diplomatic service and was appointed attaché to the legations in the Ottoman Empire and Egypt, then secretary to the embassy in Saint Petersburg, Russia. He was married to a Russian woman who was sister to an important Russian general, and was one of the first to draw French attention to the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The book has beautifully decorated covers, blank endpapers, a frontis engraving of a royal ball at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, the title page says the book is illustrated, there are 435 pages of text, and the top edge is gilt. The book measures 9 7/16 x 7 1/4 inches wide and is in very good condition. The binding is tight, and the pages and text are clean, with a tear on the front flyleaf, wear on the heel and crown, and light wear at the tips. We found only three copies listed on the rare book website we use, and they range in price from $75 to $125.