Ioseliani platon ed (1 Ergebnisse)

8vo (Vol. 1: 140 x 211 mm, vols 2-5: 128 x 197 mm). 5 vols. I: (4), 80 pp. II: 188 pp. III: (4), 172, (5) pp. with five full-page illustrations. IV: XXVI, 317 pp. plus chromolithographic frontispiece. V: (4), 185 pp. Vols. 2-5 in contemporary full calf, titles embossed in Russian to front boards, vol. 1 in contemporary cloth-backed marbled boards. Stored in a custom-fitted half morocco clamshell case. Five extremely rare editions of Georgian classics, published by the pioneering philologist and historian Platon Ioselani. Only one or two other copies of each of these volumes is known in western public catalogues, nearly all of them at different libraries. Together, this collection thus represents an unparalleled trove of foundational works of Georgian literary culture. - Ioselani (1809-75), who taught physics and philosophy at Tbilisi Theological Seminary, was no mere "armchair philologist", and the introductions to two of the works here are rich with first-hand insights from his own travels to Mount Athos and other important holy sites in search of Georgian manuscripts and communities. Every volume in this collection is a first edition, and in one case the only printing of a Georgian classic. - Vol. 1 presents the verse epic by Ioseb Tpileli (1620-88), which recounts the life of Giorgi Saakadze, also known as the Grand Mouravi, an important early seventeenth-century Georgian warlord and politician. - Vol. 2 contains the eighteenth-century travelogue to Jerusalem, via Mount Athos and Constantinople, of Timothy Gabashvili, Archbishop of Kutaisi (1707-64). On his four-year journey (1755-59), he sought out historical and archaeological material for a documentary history of the Georgian colony in Jerusalem. - Vol. 3 is the first and only edition of an eighteenth-century travelogue "through the entirety of Christian East" written by Metropolitan Iona Gedevanishvili (1737-1821) which provides important insights into political, social, and cultural aspects of life in the region in the late eighteenth century. - Vol. 4 presents a history of Georgian culture in verse written by Anton I, Patriarch of Georgian Orthodox Church (1744-55, 1764-88). Composed in 1769 in 880 iambic stanzas, it contains information about Georgian history and culture not found in other historical sources, with portions of the work dedicated to biographies of Georgian kings, clerics and poets. - Vol. 5 contains the acclaimed masterpiece of King Archil II (1647-1712), a lyric overview of the tumultuous reign of Teimuraz I (1589-1661), the early seventeenth-century poet-king. Embroiled in constant wars with the Persian Shah, Teimuraz died in captivity. Archil, whose own reign was beset by wars, pays tribute to his predecessor, openly identifying with his plight. But while Teimuraz I was a lover of Persian poetry, Archil II opposed Persian influences in the Georgian language, and he composed in traditional Georgian metre. Archil was also a notable figure for Georgian print culture, founding the first Georgian printing press in 1703. - An unparalleled collection of foundational editions of classics of Georgian literature and history. Extraordinarily rare, especially as a set: searches of OCLC and KVK reveal only one or two copies of each volume in western public collections, with no single institution possessing more than two volumes. - Some light rubbing to boards, small chips to spine of vol. 3, some scattered mild staining and foxing. Generally in very good condition with almost no signs of use. - Acquired from a French private collection; previously in the U.S. trade. - Rayfield, Literature of Georgia, 107-109. Miza Ebanoidze and John Wilkinson, Pilgrimage, 59. …