Wilde, Oscar [The Young King]. Molodoi korol’. 

Translation by M. Likiardopulo. 
Cover design and illustrations by V. Sureniants. 

Moskva, Izdanie V.M. Sablina, 1909.
8vo, [6], 35, [1] pp., 1 pl. 

In publisher’s pictorial boards. 
In good condition, repaired, overall wear, lightly stained to boards and some pages, light water-staining to some pages margins, owner mark to first endpaper.

First edition of the complete translation of Wilde’s 'The Young King' in book format. First edition of this translation. 

This story was first translated into Russian and published in the magazine 'Pravda' in June 1905. It subsequently appeared several times in different collections, but in an abridged version, most likely because the censorship authorities deemed that the story depicted injustices in the social system and ways to address them, which could be potentially dangerous for the regime at that time (Roznatovskaia, 2000).
The translation was prepared by Wilde’s foremost translator Mikhail Likiardopulo (Popandopulo; 1883–1925), a journalist and secretary of the symbolist magazine 'Vesy'. Likiardopulo produced fine translations of almost all of Wilde’s works. He was acquainted with Alfred Douglas and Robert Ross, who allowed him to copy Wilde’s 'Florentine Tragedy', a fragment of a never-completed play. Likiardopulo was reputedly a spy for Russia, Greece, and England. In 1919, he emigrated to Great Britain, and his translations ceased to be published in Russia.
The illustrations and cover design were crafted by Armenian painter and art critic Vardges Sureniants (1860–1921). Sureniants studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture, as well as the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. The illustrations were reproduced by zincography, and the title, text, and headpieces are printed in brown.

OCLC locates three copies of this edition: in the British Library, the Stanford Library and the UCLA Library.

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