[RULHIÈRE (Claude-Carloman de). - Lot 50

[RULHIÈRE (Claude-Carloman de). Histoire, ou anecdotes sur la révolution de Russie; en l'année 1762. Paris: Desenne, An V de la Rép. 1797. - In-8, red morocco, gilt roulette framing the boards, ornate smooth spine, gilt roulette inside, gilt edges (period binding). First edition of this account of the coup d'état of June 28, 1762, which brought Catherine II (1729-1796) to the throne. This account, written in 1773, was commissioned by the Countess d'Egmont from Claude-Carloman de Rulhière (1735-1791), historiographer and first-hand witness to the events. Faced with pressure from the Russian court to suppress the text for fear of compromising revelations, the author promised that it would not be published until after the empress's death, which the author's brother did in 1797. At the end is the author's poem "Discours en vers sur les disputes". A fine and rare copy in contemporary full morocco, without the publisher's catalog sometimes found at the end. Dark marks on boards, small corner missing, rubbing on second board, browned lining edges. Some traces of light dampening. Provenance: Alfred Lefèvre, with his signature dated May 1838 and autograph notes on the endpapers.