Rare & Beautiful Work on Kerch & the Bosporus

Sabatier, J. SOUVENIRS DE KERTSCH ET CHRONOLOGIE DU ROYAUME DE BOSPHORE. Saint-Pétersbourg: Chez Fd. Bellizard Co., 1849. Tall 4to [32 by 24.5 cm], later tan quarter morocco; spine with four raised bands, lettered in brown; brown endpapers; original printed paper covers bound in. (6), 129, (1), ii pages; 8 lithographic plates, 5 of which are hand-tinted. Minor worming; near fine. Pierre Justin Sabatier (1792–1869), a French numismatist, spent many years in Russia, not least because the administration of Louis XVIII condemned him to death for his efforts on behalf of the Napoleonic cause. He flourished in Russia, and his experiences in the Crimea particularly engaged his curiosity. His other published numismatic works include: Iconographie d’une collection choisie de cinq mille médailles romaines, byzantines et celtibériennes (1847); Notions sur l’iconographie sacrée en Russie (1849); Description générale des médaillons contorniates (1860); and his masterpiece, Description générale des monnaies byzantines frappées sous les empereurs d’orient depuis Arcadius jusqu’à la prise de Constantinople par Mahomet II (1862). His collection of Byzantine coins was acquired by the Hermitage, while his Greek and Roman coins were sold by Sotheby & Wilkinson in 1853. The work at hand is very rare and is especially notable for the quality of its printing and illustrations.