L'Imperatrice Elisabeth, epouse d'Alexandre I.

Manufacture des Papiers de L'Etat, St. Petersbourg, 1908 - 1909. . Octavo (28 x 20 cm), 3 vols. Frontispiece, XIII, 436 pp. with 29 plates; frontispiece, IX, 751 pp., with 33 plates and one facsimile; frontispiece, VIII, 723 pp., with 27 plates and two facsimiles, all plates with tissue guards; one plate in vol 2 loose. Contemporary red calf over marbled boards, spine with raised bands richly gilt, bookmarks; very lightly rubbed.
A beautiful copy of this fundamental work on the life of Empress Elizaveta Alekseevna (1779 - 1826), a spouse of Aleksandr I, from the library of the prominent public figure and collector Sergey Sheremetiev. The publication of this singular substantial work dedicated to the life of Empress Elizaveta came to life thanks to the efforts of the Grand Duke Nikolay Mikhailovich, an outstanding historian & writer, and cousin to the last Russian tsar Nikolas II. However, the initial idea for writing a biography of the Empress belonged to the Grand Duke Sergey Aleksandrovich, who had collected documents and items related to Elizaveta Alekseevna for a long time.

Nonetheless, however comprehensive the present work is, even the Grand Duke was not in power to reveal all the details of the Empress's life. For example, a chapter related to a love affair of Elizaveta was removed from the publication upon the order of Nicholas II.