THE ISRAEL PERLSTEIN COLLECTION
RELATING TO IMPERIAL RUSSIA
A REGISTER OF THE COLLECTION
IN THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Prepared by
Alvin Kapusta and Patrick Kerwin
Manuscript Division
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 1996
***
PROVENANCE
This collection relating to Imperial Russia was donated to the
Library of Congress in 1931 by Israel Perlstein (1897-1975), a rare
book dealer in New York City. Perlstein also sold a considerable
number of books from various Imperial Russian collections to the
Library during the 1930s. These volumes are now located in the Law
Library and the Rare Book and Special Collections, Music, European,
and other divisions of the Library.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Readers interested in consulting any of the division's
collections are advised to write or telephone the
Manuscript Reading Room at (202) 707-5387 before visiting.
Many processed and nearly all unprocessed collections are
stored off site, and advance notice is needed to retrieve
these items for research use.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Linear feet of shelf space occupied: 4
Number of items: 75
***
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
1897 Born in the Polish city of Kowel' in Volyina (now in
Volynskaya, Ukraine)
1920 Emigrated to the United States and settled in New
York, N.Y.
1924 Dealer, Hebrew and East European books, New York,
N.Y.
1926-36 Periodic trips to the USSR; purchased the Winter
Palace, the Tsarskoye Selo, and the Grand Duke
Vladimir Imperial Russian book collections from
Soviet book and antiquarian agencies
1931 Sold large accumulation of Imperial Russian material
to the Library of Congress
Donated his personal collection of Imperial Russian
manuscripts and memorabilia to the Library of
Congress
1932 Sold second collection of Imperial Russian material
to the Library of Congress
1932-75 Continued to purchase Imperial Russian and East
European materials and to sell them to the Library
of Congress, Indiana, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia
universities, the New York Public Library, and the
Universities of Illinois and Michigan
1975, Mar. 23 Died, New York, N.Y.
***
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
The Israel Perlstein collection of manuscripts and memorabilia
relating to Imperial Russia, 1613-1914, is almost as much a
collection of Russian art, artifacts, and early Slavic printing and
calligraphy as it is a manuscript assemblage. The provenance of the
collection before Perlstein acquired it has not been fully
established. However, an oval stamp bearing the inscription "iz
sobranie S.N. Treinitskogo" (i.e., from the collection of S.N.
Treinitskii) can be found on many of these items, indicating that
the seventeenth century and some of the eighteenth and nineteenth
century items belonged at one time to a Russian collector by the
name of S.N. Treinitskii.
Six seventeenth century and one eighteenth century land grant
charters in the collection were issued by Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich
and by his successors, Tsar Fedor Alekseevich and the Co-tsars
Ioann and Peter Alekseevich (later Emperor Peter I). These early
manuscripts are interesting not only as examples of court documents
written in official Old Slavonic but also as graphic
representations of the art, calligraphy, and printing of that
period. The seventeenth century items are printed on heavy white
paper of different sizes, including one giant charter measuring one
and a half by five feet, and contain a variety of inscriptions on
the verso as well as calligraphic signatures typical of that
period. In contrast, the eighteenth century land grant charter
issued by Empress Catherine II in 1774 to Iogan Hendrikh von
Morenshil'd consists of two single parchment folios in a
presentation case and decorated in color with imperial emblems and
borders.
The two imperial patents of nobility, one issued in 1836 by
Nicholas I to Semen Vol'skii who had served the court as a
physician during the invasion of Russia by Napoleon in 1811, and
the second issued by Alexander II to the de la Valle-Vel'k family
in 1865, are examples of the court calligraphy and colorful hand-
painted representations of coats of arms of the nineteenth century.
A third patent of nobility issued by Charles XI, King of Sweden, in
1695 represents Swedish calligraphy, manuscript art, and the
manufacture of seals and scippets utilized in patents of nobility
by the late seventeenth century Swedish court.
The Pal'menbach Family Records, forming a collection of
sixteen items dating from the seventeenth to the nineteenth
centuries, appear to have been assembled by Lieutenant General Lev
Pavlovich Batiushkov around 1875. Batiushkov, a collateral
descendant of the Pal'menbach family, was attempting to establish
his lineage in order to append a noble family name to that of his
own after the death of the last direct male Pal'menbach descendant,
Estafii Ivanovich Pal'menbach. Included are patents of nobility,
copies of military service records, certificates, and records of
imperial orders granted to the family during this period, as well
as genealogical tables, other family data, and official documents
requesting the name change.
Part of the imperial memorabilia appears to have belonged to
the journalist Mikhail Andreevich Zaguliaev, who represented the
St. Petersburg newspaper, _Journal de Petersbourg_, at the 1896
coronation of Emperor Nicholas II and received invitations and
other items addressed in his name. This group is a very diverse
assemblage of colorful banquet menus, imperial manifestos, concert
and opera programs, and other items such as tickets to coronation
events and chauffeur's passes to the Kremlin compound. Among those
who decorated the menus and programs were some of the primary
artists of the period, including Appollonarii, Vasnetsov, Samokish,
Grigoriev, Ignatsius, Pervuta, Lipgart', and Aleksandr Benois.
After his emigration to the West Benois became the scene designer
for Diagilev's Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and for various Paris
theaters. Color printing of the menus and programs appears to have
been done primarily by two printers: I. Ilyin in St. Petersburg and
A.A. Levenson in Moscow. There are twelve items dealing with the
coronation of Emperor Aleksandr III in 1883 and twenty-three items
dealing with the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II in 1896. Among
the opera programs is one for Glinka's opera, "A Life for the
Tsar," given in 1913 on the 300th anniversary of the founding of
the Romanov dynasty. Other items include copies of military
service records, invitations to balls, and an eight by eight inch
piece of heavy brocade similar to that used in the binding of
official court documents in the seventeenth century but with no
holes to indicate that it had ever been officially used.
***
DESCRIPTION OF SERIES
Since the items in the Israel Perlstein Collection are of
different sizes, they have been boxed in six containers specially
constructed for them. As a result the material is not listed in
chronological order. Two of the patents of nobility with large
scippets containing seals and tassels have been encased in separate
boxes.
Container Nos. Series
1-2 Pal'menbach Family Records, 1695-1875.
Patents of nobility, military records, land
records,
marriage agreements, petitions, and miscellaneous
papers.
3-5 Land Grants and Patents of Nobility, 1613-1865, n.d.
6 Imperial Memorabilia, 1883-1914, n.d.
Menus, programs, tickets, and other memorabilia,
primarily relating to court life in Russia.
***
CONTAINER LIST
Container and Contents
Folder Nos.
PAL'MENBACH FAMILY RECORDS
1695
_See_ container 2 folder 1
Box 1-1 1725
Appointment by Empress Catherine for Lt. Andrei
Batiushkov to rank of adjutant (Russian)
Box 1-2 1755
Copy of service record of Ivan Pal'menbach,
Colonel of the Vyborgskii Infantry Regiment
(Russian)
Box 1-3 1780
Marriage agreement between Baroness Elizaveta
Aleksandrovna Biron (Cherkasov) and Gustav
(Efstafii) Ivanovich Pal'menbach, Major of the
Guards, Grenadier Regiment (Russian)
Box 1-4 1789
Kushelev service record; mentions recognition "of
bravery of all ranks in the face of enemy fire
on 13 August" (Russian)
Box 1-5 1791
Military service record of Efstafii Pal'menbach,
Colonel of the Elizavetograd Cavalry Regiment;
copy of record issued to Lt. Gen. Lev Pavlovich
Batiushkov by the imperial general staff on
June 5, 1875 (Russian)
Box 1-6 1797, 11 Aug.
Imperial manifesto appointing Elizaveta A.
Pal'menbach as head of the Council of the
Imperial Society of Noble Maidens replacing the
late Mme. Delafond (Russian)
Box 1-7 1800, 25 Feb.
Certificate given to Sofia Efstafievna Pal'menbach
on of her 12th birthday, her acceptance into
the Imperial Society of Noble Maidens, and her
presentation to the empress; printed on
parchment with handwritten insertion of names
and date; on back of certificate, oval stamp
reads "from the collection of S.N. Treinitskii"
(Russian)
Box 1-8 1802
Manifesto by Emperor Aleksandr I granting tax
exemption to the widow of Col. Pal'menbach for
an additional six years (Russian)
Box 1-9 1864, 12 Aug.
Resume of imperial orders granted the Pal'menbach
family: To Efstafii Ivanovich, the Order of
St. George, 4th degree on November 24, 1788; to
Elizaveta Aleksandrovna, the Order of St.
Catherine on June 20, 1797; and to Lt. General
Pal'menbach, the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky
on September 22, 1762 (Russian)
Box 1-10 1875
Translation from Swedish into Russian of the 1695
patent of nobility granted by Charles XI of
Sweden to Christian Bernard Pal'menbach;
original is located in container 2 (Russian)
Box 1-11 Copy of Pal'menbach family data translated into
Russian from German heraldry book; not dated
but probably _ca._ 1875 (Russian)
Box 1-12 Two copies (one with red seal) of service record
of Gustav Moritz von Pal'menbach, also called
Ivan Pal'menbach, who served in the Lifland
Division and who replaced the commander of that
division, General Field-Marshal Count Buturlin
in 1767 (Russian)
Box 1-13 Declaration of consent by Fedor Andreevich von
Byuller, the only son of the late Baroness and
Dame Aleksandra Efstafievna von Pal'menbach
Byuller, wife of the secret councillor and
senator Baron Andrei Ianovich von Byuller, to
the incorporation of his family tree with that
of his cousin, Lt. General Lev Pavlovich
Batiushkov; all the latter's descendants to
carry the name of von Pal'menbach on the basis
of primogeniture, as the direct line of von
Pal'menbach's had become extinct with the death
of the common grandfather, Col. Efstafii
Ivanovich von Pal'menbach (Russian)
Box 1-14 Draft copy of above (Russian)
Box 1-15 Biron and Pal'menbach genealogical table; on the
left is the lineage of the Biron family
beginning with Ioann Ernest Biron, Count of
Karlsbad and Regent of Russia, and on the right
is the lineage of the von Pal'menbach family;
compiled by Lev Pavlovich Batiushkov possibly
in 1875 during his research on the von
Pal'menbach family (Russian)
Box 1-16 Five drafts of petitions and supplementary
material, including draft translation from
Swedish of Charles XI's patent of nobility to
Christian Bernard Bierbach, draft copy of Biron
and Pal'menbach genealogical table, and three
drafts of petitions, and two official documents
dealing with the attempt by Lt. General Lev
Pavlovich Batiushkov to incorporate his name
with that of von Pal'menbach (Russian)
Box 2-1 1695
Patent of nobility issued by Charles XI, King of
Sweden, to Christian Bernard Bierbach in name
of Pal'menbach; presentation case binding,
brown wooden scippet containing royal Swedish
seal; handwritten in ink with drawing of coat
of arms in color (Swedish)
LAND GRANTS AND PATENTS OF NOBILITY, 1613-1865, n.d.
1613-19
_See_ container 5, folder 1
1682-91
_See_ container 4
Box 3-1 1836, 7 Feb.
Emperor Nicholas I: patent of nobility issued to
Semen Volskii who had entered the Imperial
Service on July 1811 as a court physician
during Napoleon's invasion of Russia; signed
"Nicholas;" presentation binding in gold-
colored silk with white silk paste down front
and back; headpiece has Imperial coat of arms
in color and border design of first page
decorated with 49 hand-painted miniature coat
of arms; other pages have geometric border
designs in blue, silver and gold; Volskii
coat of arms illustrated in color on Page 7,
written inscriptions on Page 8, and oval stamp
reading "from the collection of S.N.
Treinitskii" (Russian)
Box 4-1 1682
Tsar Fedor Alekseevich: Charter for land grant
issued to Fedor Afanas'evich Karakhin for
"services against the Turkish sultan and the
Crimean khan who attacked our Little Russian
cities ... served yet our father Aleksei
Mikhailovich. He is awarded for generation
upon generation an estate (description
follows). ...They may sell, convey ...but if
sold and one of his descendants wishes to claim
it, he will be allowed to buy it back;" text
printed in Old Slavonic hand-written inserts of
names and description of property (Russian)
Box 4-2 1683
Co-Tsars Ioann Alekseevich and Petr Alekseevich:
charter for land grant issued to Fedor
Afanas'evich Karakhin for faithful service;
text printed in Old Slavonic with handwritten
inserts for names and description of property;
printed by the Verkhnaia typografiia in Moscow
(Russian)
Box 4-3 1688
Co-Tsars Ioann Alekseevich and Petr Alekseevich
and Tsarina Sofiia (as regent): charter for
land grant issued to Fedor Mikhailovich
Korobanov in "recognition of service during the
war with the Turkish sultan and the Khan of
Crimea...;" text printed in Old Slavonic with
handwritten inserts of names and description of
property; on back side, 3 lines of handwriting,
calligraphic signature, and oval stamp reading
"from the collection of S.N. Treinitskii"
(Russian)
Box 4-4 1691
Co-Tsars Ioann Alekseevich and Petr Alekseevich:
charter for land grant to Fedor Mikhailovich
Korobanov in "recognition for his services in
effecting the peace with our brother the King
of Poland;" the charter also served as
diplomatic credentials and outlined the
conflict between Russia and Poland and its
settlement; text printed with handwritten
inserts of names, description of property and
other data (Russian)
1774
_See_ container 5, folder 3
1865
_See_ container 5, folder 4
Box 5-1 1613
Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich: charter for land grant
issued to Ivan Grigor'evich Korobanov "in
recognition for his service in dealing with the
King of Poland, Sygmont," text is printed with
handwritten inserts of names and description of
land; oval stamp reads "iz sobranie S. N.
Treinitskogo" (from the collection of S.N.
Treinitskii) (Russian)
Box 5-2 1619
Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich: charter for land grant
issued to the son of Ivan Grigor'evich
Korobanov; text printed in Old Slavonic with
handwritten inserts of name and description of
property (Russian)
Box 5-3 1774
Empress Catherine II: charter for land grant
issued to Iogan Hendrikh von Morenshil'd
confirming his possession of the "Orgamets"
estate bought from the descendants of Andrey
Leshern, who was granted this estate by Charles
Gustav, King of Sweden, on December 7, 1656,
and confirmed by royal resolutions of 1662,
1667, and 1680 which granted him and his heirs
the right to sell the estate at will; oval
stamp on last page of parchment which reads
"from the collection of S.N. Treinitskii;"
signed "Ekaterina" (Russian)
Box 5-4 1865
Emperor Aleksandr II: patent of nobility issued
to the family of de la Valle-Vel'k which was
accepted into the nobility by the senate on
October 8, 1852; signed "Aleksandr" and dated
April 2, 1865 (Russian)
Box 5-5 Undated
Piece of heavy brocade in red, gold, and silver
colored threads cut in scalloped design
measuring 8 x 8 1/2 inches; date unknown but
possibly seventeenth or eighteenth century
since the fragment closely resembles brocade
used for binding Item 4-2 above which is dated
1683
IMPERIAL MEMORABILIA, 1883-1914, n.d.
Box 6-1 Emperor Aleksandr III
Coronation, 1883
Two programs of the opera performance of
Glinka's "Life for the Tsar" and the ballet
"Night and Day" given during coronation week
in May 1883 at the Moscow Art Theater; art
work by Grigoriev (Russian and French)
Box 6-2 Emperor Nicholas II
Coronation, 1896
Dinner Menu on occasion of the imperial
coronation; art work by Victor Vasentsov and
printing by A.A. Levenson (Russian)
Box 6-3 Concert Program for May 15, 1883, in honor of
the coronation of Nicholas II and
Aleksandra; poster program with multicolored
scenes and borders; two copies; art design
by K. Pervuta; printed by A.A. Levenson
(Russian)
Box 6-4 Menu for dinner given for Cossack Starshina
(Leadership) on May 18, 1896; art work by
Apollinarii Vasnetsov; printed by A.A.
Levenson (Russian)
Box 6-5 Menu for dinner, May 26, 1896; multicolor with
scenes of Kremlin and Kiev by Apollinarii
Vasnetsov (Russian)
Box 6-6 Poster announcing entertainment during
coronation week to include "Ruslan and
Ludmila," "Konek-Gorbunok" ("The Hump-Backed
Pony"), "Yermak, or the Conquest of
Siberia," the Brothers Nikitin Circus, and
the Durov Trained Animals (Russian)
Box 6-7 Emperor Aleksandr III
Coronation, 1883
Proclamation of coronation of Empress Maria
Fedorovna; printed in ornate red and black
script (Russian)
Box 6-8 Menu for dinner commemorating the coronation
of Empress Maria Fedorovna; printed on
poster paper with scene on first page
depicting the carrying of the Royal Regalia
from the Armory to the Uspenskii Sobor in
the Kremlin; scene on second page depicts
Orthodox priest offering bread and salt with
government official, peasant and three women
surrounding him; art by Victor Vasnetsov;
printed by I. Il'yin in St. Petersburg
(Russian)
Box 6-9 Menu (same as top part of item 6-8 with lower
part missing (Russian)
Box 6-10 Menu on occasion of coronation of Empress Maria
Fedorovna, May 19, 1883 (Russian)
Box 6-11 Menu on occasion of coronation of Empress Maria
Fedorovna, May 20, 1883; artist V. Vasnetsov
(Russian)
Box 6-12 Menu for the Cossack Starshina (Leadership) on
occasion of coronation of Empress Maria
Fedorovna May 21, 1883; art work by A.
Karazin (Russian)
Box 6-13 Menu, May 23, 1883, during coronation week
(Russian)
Box 6-14 Menu, May 24, 1883, on occasion of coronation
of Empress Maria Fedorovna; artist: V.
Vasnetsov (French)
Box 6-15 Menu, May 27, 1883, on occasion of imperial
coronation; artist: V. Vasnetsov (Russian)
Box 6-16 Menu, July 25, 1883, occasion not given;
artwork by V. Ignatsius (French)
Box 6-17 Emperor Nicholas II
Coronation, 1896
Manifesto announcing that Aleksandra Fedorovna,
wife of Nicholas II, would be crowned
Empress during the imperial coronation;
design by A. Petrov-Ronet (Russian)
Box 6-18 Program for coronation week folk entertainment
described in Item 6-6 (Russian)
Box 6-19 Program for concert given May 8, 1896, at
Petrovskiy Palace, St. Petersburg (French)
Box 6-20 Poster dinner menus for May 15, 1896; art work
(pictures of Kremlin cathedrals) by
Aleksandr Benois; printed by A.A. Levenson
(Russian)
Box 6-21 Poster dinner menu, May 19, 1896; art by
Aleksandr Benois; printed by A.A. Levenson
(Russian)
Box 6-22 Poster supper menu, May 20, 1896, with scene
depicting a royal couple at table and ornate
border art; art work by Aleksandr Benois;
printed by A.A. Levenson (Russian)
Box 6-23 Poster supper Menu for May 23, 1896, with scene
of Kremlin, bridge, and mounted imperial
troops in foreground; art by Lipgart,
printed by A.A. Levenson (Russian)
Box 6-24 Poster dinner Menu for May 25, 1896, with scene
depicting imperial coach and six horses; art
work by Lipgart; printed by A.A. Levenson
(French)
Box 6-25 Miscellany
1899
Imperial breakfast and concert program on
occasion of the 100th anniversary of Her
Imperial Majesty Maria Fedorovna's Cavalry
Regiment; art Work by N. Samokish
(Russian)
Box 6-26 Emperor Aleksandr III
Miscellany
1884, 15 Apr.
Announcement of the forthcoming marriage of
the Grand Duke Konstantin and the Princess
Elizaveta Saxon-Altenburg (Russian)
Box 6-27 1889
Announcement of the forthcoming marriage of
Grand Duke Pavel Aleksandrovich, brother
of Aleksandr III, and Princess Aleksandra
Georgeevna, daughter of King George of
Greece (Russian)
Emperor Nicholas II
Coronation, 1896
Box 6-28 Reception list of the St. Petersburg diplomatic
corps (French)
Box 6-29 Program for the Bolshoi Opera presentation of
Glinka's "A Life for the Tsar" and the
ballet "Pearl" on May 17, 1896 (Russian)
Miscellany
Box 6-30 1899
Imperial manifesto outlining rules for
governing the Grand Duchy of Finland
(Russian)
Box 6-31 1913
Program for Glinka's opera "A Life for the
Tsar" in honor of the 300th Anniversary of
the founding of the Romanov Dynasty,
February 22, 1913; printed by A.A.
Levenson (Russian)
Emperor Aleksandr III
Box 6-32 Coronation, 1883
Dinner invitation to the troops of Moscow from
the city of Moscow at Sokolniki on May 23,
1883, during coronation week (Russian)
Box 6-33 Miscellany
1887, 26 Feb.
Luncheon menu with imperial crest (French)
Box 6-34 1890, 8 June
City of St. Petersburg banquet menu for the
IVth International Congress of Penitents;
picture of statue of Peter the Great;
elaborate colored border (French)
Box 6-35 1894, 28 July
Peterhof Palace; program for opera "Romeo
and Juliet" (Russian)
Box 6-36 Emperor Nicholas II
Coronation, 1896
Pass No. 714 issued to Mikhail Andreevich
Zaguliaev, correspondent for the _Journal de
St. Petersbourg_, to enter the Kremlin
Palace to attend the coronation of Nicholas
II and Aleksandra; dated May 17, 1896
(Russian)
Box 6-37 Aide-memoire for individuals in the military
escort of the grand dukes during the
coronation, May 1896 (Russian)
Box 6-38 Schedule for the coronation, May 6, 1896
(Russian)
Box 6-39 Ticket to the Bolshoi Opera presentation of
Glinka's "A Life for the Tsar" and the
ballet "Pearl," May 17, 1896 (Russian)
Box 6-40 Pass No. 633 to enter the Uspenskii Sobor in
the Kremlin to attend the coronation of
Nicholas II and Aleksandra on May 14, 1896;
issued to Mikhail Andreevich Zaguliaev,
special correspondent for the St. Petersburg
_Journal de Petersbourg_ (Russian)
Box 6-41 Pass No. 979 to enter the Kremlin Palace for
coronation of Nicholas II and Aleksandra,
May 17, 1896 (Russian)
Box 6-42 Pass to Moscow Duma Building issued to Mikhail
Andreevich Zaguliaev for May 23, 1896, on
occasion of Emperor Nicholas II and Empress
Aleksandra's visit to the Moscow Duma
(Russian)
Box 6-43 Press carriage tag and carriage driver's
identification ticket for May 23, 1896
(Russian)
Box 6-44 Invitation issued to Mikhail Andreevich
Zaguliaev as correspondent of the_ Journal
de St. Petersbourg_ for the coronation ball,
May 23, 1896 (Russian)
Box 6-45 Miscellany
1898, 16 Jan.
Supper menu with Imperial Crest (French)
Box 6-46 1914
Concert program of opera excerpts and music
(French)
Box 6-47 Undated
Invitation by the French ambassador to
Mikhail Andreevich Zaguliaev for a ball at
which the emperor and empress would be
present (French)
*** Last update 09/13/96 (mal) ***
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