The Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg

Paris / Saint Petersburg: Alain de Gourcuff / The Hermitage, 1995. Slipcased. NF/NF with a hint of light shelf rubbing to box.. Oblong mint green boards; black lettering. Housed in a dusty rose clamshell box with color illustration; green title block on spine. No dust jacket, as issued for this boxed edition. This handsome volume of watercolors and portraits from the State Hermitage Museum documents the winter palace of the Russian Tsars. Located in St. Petersburg, the Hermitage was built between 1754 and 1762. The collection makes up one of the jewels of the museum. With a preface by Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Hermitage director; introduction and commentaries by Militsa Filipovna Korshunova, Tatiana Borisovna Bushmina and Tatiana Borisovna Semionova. Each image is in color with the corresponding annotation on the facing page. Included are a list of the illustration; a floor plan; drawings of the north, west, and south facades; a list of the articles and craftsmen classified according to their crafts; an index, and biographical details. A sumptuous book.