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Wilde, Oscar

Aphorisms. First separate Russian edition.

Aphorisms. First separate Russian edition.

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English literature / First edition / Oscar Wilde / Translations
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Wilde, Oscar [Aphorisms]. Aforizmy.

Translation by the Prince D. Viazemskii.

S.-Peterburg, [tip. ‘Sirius’], 1913.
12mo, 116 pp.

In contemporary dark grey cloth. Original wrappers preserved inside.
In good condition, light wear, small loss to spine.

First edition of this translation. First separate Russian edition of Wilde’s 'Aphorisms'.

The first Russian translation of Wilde’s aphorisms was published in 1905, the same year as the original edition. It was prepared by Ekaterina Andreeva, the second wife of the symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont. In 1908, Wilde’s aphorisms were published in the magazine 'Novyi zhurnal literatury, iskusstva I nauki' ('New Journal of Literature, Art, and Science'; #1–4). The following year, they were included in Wilde’s 'Collection of Works' (vol. 7). Additionally, another translation of the aphorisms was issued in the magazine 'Novoe slovo" ('New Word').
This translation was made by a military officer and duke, Dmitriy Viazemskii (1884–1917), who was also a vowel of the St. Petersburg City Duma. This was likely Viazemskii’s only experience with translation. Unfortunately, he met a tragic end when he was killed by a stray bullet during the February Revolution.

Roznatovskaia. # 479* (mistakenly dated — 1912; described not de visu).

Very rare edition. We couldn’t trace any copy of this edition in the USA or European libraries via OCLC.

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