TransliterationBreton de la Mariniere J.B. La Russie, ou Costumes, Moeurs et Usages des Russes: suite de gravures coloriees avec leurs explications. Paris.

Author: Breton de la Martiniere J.B.

Publication Date: 1813

Publication Place: Paris

Description: Please feel free to request a detailed description. Short description: Breton de la Martiniere J.B. Russia, or Costumes, Manners and Customs of the Russians: series of colored engravings with their explanations. Paris, 1813. In French. The author of this richly illustrated edition is Jean-Baptiste Breton de la Mariniere (1777–1852), a French republican, stenographer, and journalist who wrote about the most high-profile criminal trials of the French Revolution. Knowing almost all European languages, he also worked as a court interpreter. This ethnographic work contains a wide variety of information about Russia at the beginning of the 19th century: descriptions of both capitals, provinces, individual cities, methods and means of transportation, and etiquette. The author himself spoke of his book as follows: “I read a lot in different languages and saw Russia in a new light. And I decided to offer readers some curious details from the life of this country and its peoples. I will tell you about the different nations of the Russian Empire, about their manners and customs, as well as their costumes, which differ in a surprising way from province to province”. The narrative is accompanied by a large number of color illustrations, sketches of costumes of different nationalities, as well as engravings. The book was illustrated by the French aquatint painter and engraver Michel François Damame-Demartre, and the Englishman, Sir Robert Ker Porter, who worked for some time in Russia and had the opportunity to make sketches from life. SKUMS000153

SKU: lom-MS000153