Description:

Peter I of Russia Czar

Peter the Great Discusses Naval Artillery, 5 Handwritten Lines & Signature!

 

2pp letter in Russian, with five lines of text in the hand of Tsar Peter I (1672-1725) in addition to his signature as "Piotr" on the bottom of the second page. Issued from St. Petersburg, Peter's newly constructed capital, on March 23, 1715. The third page is blank while the last page is an integral address leaf bearing an imperial red wax seal.  On watermarked cream laid bifold paper. With expected folds and creases, and some isolated closed tears. Overall toning and some griminess to the first page, else very good. 6.25" x 8".

Originally purchased from Frasers in London priced at over $30,000!! Original catalog description with price included.

 

The letter is accompanied by an additional paper fragment inscribed in Russian, as well as three vintage portrait engravings of Peter I. The most exciting addition to the lot, however, is its impressive array of provenance material, including a December 10, 1865 autograph letter signed by Baron Karl Freiherr von Bruck (1830-1902) providing a translation into French; as well as contemporary complete transcripts of the letter into German and modernized Russian.

 

Any text inscribed in the hand of Peter I is extremely rare, making the tsar's 5-line addendum at the end of this letter very special. The rarity of this document explains why it was so carefully curated since at least the mid-nineteenth century.

 

Peter I sent this missive to Lieutenant-Colonel Genning, a commander of artillery. In it, Peter gives Genning several explicit instructions, thus in the process demonstrating his own extensive personal knowledge of gunnery. In 1697-98, during Peter's "Grand Embassy", the tsar had studied artillery at Konigsberg and Pilau, and then went on to shadow carpenters and shipbuilders in Amsterdam and England. The reference in the letter to an admiral suggests that the artillery herein discussed pertained to naval vessels.

 

Translation (with punctuation added for clarity, and paragraph breaks added for improved legibility):

 

"Your letters written [on] 10 February, 2 and 12 March, have reached us and we respond to you here - Begin production at present of large cannons, especially between 18-24 caliber, because we only have little ones left - Regarding what you wrote…give again orders to the manufacturers of the Bjoloser (?) circle, one from a district or neighboring one. We already gave you in this regard orders to the Gentlemen of the Senate so that they can comply and ask the advice of Monsieur the Admiral.

 

The 30-weight canon from Nuremberg that you melted and expedited has not yet reached us but is still in Schusselburg [possibly Schlisselburg, modern day Russia?] - the moment that it is transported here, we will inspect it and let you know what we think of it and of the canons of what caliber you must produce in the future -

 

… [in this section, Peter discusses screws]…

 

Here we thank you for your efforts, [adding] that you have done the business very well especially in the proportions and cleanliness of the canons.

 

Piotr

 

St. Petersburg

23 March 1715".

 

Also included in the lot:

 

- A small paper fragment inscribed in Russian, untranslated, 6" x 2"

 

- Three probably eighteenth-century French engravings of Peter I

 

The first engraving after Houat depicts "Peter Alexeyevich, Czar and Grand Duke of Muscovy", whose portrait appears above two rhyming couplets: "To liberate my name from eternal oblivion / By prudent and wise counsel / Sovereign of a Grand People, Barbarous and Savage / I make them every day more mild and more polite."

 

The remaining two engravings, entitled "Peter the Great" and "Peter Alexeyevich, Czar of Larger Russia" respectively, depict Peter dressed in armor. These martial depictions resemble the tsar's portrait by Jean-Marc Nattier.

 

Peter I ruled the Russian Empire for 43 years, first with elder brother Ivan V, and after 1696 independently until his death in February 1725.

 

PROVENANCE

 

Karl Baron von Bruck, an Austrian diplomat-in-training, provided a complete translation of Peter I's letter from archaic Russian into French. Von Bruck, who served as the first secretary of the Austrian embassy in Brussels, wrote an unknown correspondent named the "Marquis" on December 10, 1865:

 

"Dear Marquis, Here is the translation in bad French," Von Bruck began. "I have translated [the letter] as much as possible word for word, leaving you the care of arranging it as you see best - the little note contains, with the exception of the signatures and of the date, the last words of the letter, that is to say, the beginning of the letter up until the word "canons" inclusively. - I hope that it can satisfy you. Best wishes, v Bruck."

 

Peter I's letter, accompanied as it was by Von Bruck's translation, was catalogued by a French collector as "Pierre 1er le Grand. 1689 - 1725. L. avec cinq lignes A. S. le 23 mars 1715. Adréssée au Colonel Lieutenant de l'Artillerie Genning. (traduction de la lettre par le Bon de Bruck, ler Secretaire de la Legation d'Autriche à Bruxelles.)" [Translation: "Peter the First, the Great. 1689-1725. L[etter] with five lines A[utographed] S[igned] 23 March 1715. Addressed to Colonel Lieutenant of the Artillery Genning. (translation of the letter by Bon de Bruck, 1st Secretary of the Austrian Legation at Brussels."]

 

Von Bruck was the son of Austrian finance minister Karl Baron von Bruck (1798-1860). The younger Von Bruck continued his diplomatic career at Darmstadt (1868-1870), Munich (1870-1886), and Rome (1886-1895).

 

Also including a 4pp handwritten document on cream bifold paper with deckled edges, providing a complete transcript of the letter in German and modernized Russian.

 

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

 

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