Imperial hunting

Supreme Hunters

Hunting has long been considered an indispensable component of the life of the crowned persons. In Russia, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, Peter II, Anna Ioannovna, and later Alexander II and Alexander III were passionate hunters. But even under other emperors, hunting was a traditional pastime in suburban residences. The Imperial Hunt was in charge of the Ober-Jägermeister Chancellery, transformed in 1796 into the Jagermeister Office (since 1882 it was called the Imperial Hunt).

Unlike Catherine II, Pavel Petrovich was not interested in hunting unless it was required by the rules of etiquette. During the foreign tour of Pavel Petrovich and Maria Feodorovna under the name of Count and Countess Nord in 1781-1782. he took part in the hunts organized for him, as evidenced by the drawings and engravings depicting the grand ducal couple hunting in Berenze, near Stuttgart, and in Berlin. Emperor Paul I was interested in only one institution that has a connection with the Imperial hunt - the Gatchina menagerie, which was arranged by Count G. G. Orlov.

A. Benois tried to recreate the walk of Emperor Paul I through the menagerie in the drawing. As for the famous “Monument to the Eagle”, erected at the site of the fall of an eagle killed by the emperor in the Gatchina Palace Garden, then, most likely, the obelisk, as historian M. M. Safonov argued, is actually a Masonic symbol.

The historian of the Imperial Hunt N. Kutepov (his books in the gift version were republished not so long ago) writes: “Emperor Paul I did not feel the slightest inclination to hunt. The archives have not preserved any information about at least one hunt in his presence ... The construction of a vast stone building for the Ober-Jägermeister Corps along the Tsarskoye Selo Road, begun by the Empress at the end of her reign, was still completely completed, when Emperor Paul, upon accession to the throne, handed it over to Izmalovsky shelf".

Emperor Paul I was a lover of dogs, but not hunting ones. According to P. Ya. Bashutsky (in the retelling of his son Alexander Pavlovich), watch parades at the Mikhailovsky Castle were held as follows: “A lot of ordinary people and dogs usually gathered at the watch parades. No one dared to drive away either the first or the last, and they crowded freely: the people were behind, and the dogs were ahead of Paul I. Pavel was always affectionate to the common people, and when the troops on the parade lined up to pass him, he with his cane slightly moved the people away, saying: "Please move back a little"; then, taking his cane under his left arm and taking off the glove with the kragens from his right hand, he took out pieces of bread from his right pocket and treated them to the dogs crowding around him. When the troops were already approaching, he slightly drove the dogs away with a cane, saying: "Well, now go," and the dogs, realizing this and having received their handout, left by themselves.

A week after accession to the throne on November 13, 1796, Paul I ordered that “bird hunting (falconry. - L. V.) with the ministers were not discharged from Moscow to St. Petersburg until a special order. As a result, falconry, located in the Semyonovsky amusing yard, fell into decay. Obtaining birds of prey (falcons and gyrfalcons) became a difficult matter, because Paul I took away tax benefits and advantages from all povytchiks, turning them into palace peasants, with the exception of povytchiks of the Kazan province.

A month and a half after the accession to the throne of Emperor Paul I, a new yacht staff was approved. By this state, the size of court hunting was almost halved in comparison with the state of 1773. The total number of officials and ministers was reduced from 321 to 162 people. The most significant parts of the Imperial hunting - canine and bird hunting - were subjected to especially increased reduction. Of the 86 people of the dog hunt in 1773, only 55 remained in the new state, and 19 people of the bird hunt instead of the previous 45. Only the Jägermeister team remained unchanged.

Chief Jägermeister Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Golitsyn remained in office until February 16, 1800, then was replaced by General of Infantry Vasily Ivanovich Levashev. The Jägermeisters subordinate to the Chief Jägermeister did not remain in their positions for long. On December 6, 1798, the favorite of the emperor, Chief Wardrobe Master Count Ivan Pavlovich Kutaisov, was appointed as the Jägermeister, but already on January 1, 1800, Count Golovkin 3rd was in his place. Less than two months later, Golovkin incurred the wrath of the sovereign and on February 26 of the same 1800 was dismissed from service for cost overruns - “the expenses he incurred during the journey of the beloved daughter of our Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna, in excess of the amount we put on that, twice » . It is also known that in 1797 an elephant was placed in the Elephant Yard in St. Petersburg, 1,500 rubles were assigned for its maintenance and salary to the elephant keepers. in year.

It is also known that Paul I visited the menagerie on June 10, 1799, on Friday: “At 7 pm Their Imperial Majesties with their Imperial Highnesses the Sovereign Heir, Empresses Grand Duchesses Elena Pavlovna, Maria Pavlovna and Ekaterina Pavlovna and Their Graces the Princes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the retinue of the constituents of both sexes was deigned to have a departure on the rulers (special court carriages with a longitudinal back in the middle. - BUT. B.) to walk ... to the menagerie ".

“The Emperor Alexander Pavlovich inherited from his father a dislike for hunting,” writes further historian N. Kutepov. - In Russia, as far as we know, he never hunted, and only during trips abroad did he officially take part in the hunts organized by foreign monarchs, along with other amusements in honor of his visit.

October 6, 1808 in Ettersberg, near Weimar, hunting deer and other game given by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar ... ”A drawing of that time has been preserved, according to which I. Repin later painted a picture on this plot.

Nevertheless, court hunting was not inactive, since the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna was once interested in bird falconry. Information has been preserved that in the summer of 1805 falconers with birds of prey were summoned from Moscow to St. Petersburg. They were also called in 1808 and 1810.

The Jägermeister department kept long-established huts for shooting black grouse in the forest near the village of Shushary. As N. Kutepov notes, in 1820 a new round hut was built here, log, warm, and “stuffed poles” were placed around it, as was done during the construction of huts during the time of Elizabeth Petrovna and Catherine II.

However, the news of 1814 about Maria Feodorovna's hunt for hares has also been preserved. In the chamber-furier magazine of October 9 we read: “Gatchina. On Friday at 12 pm Her Imperial Majesty the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna with Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess (Anna Pavlovna) in carriages, and Their Imperial Highnesses the Grand Dukes on horseback deigned to leave the palace to hunt hare baiting, and being accompanied in the lines and on horseback, by the persons of both sexes who made up the Highest Retinue, and at half past 4 o'clock they returned back to the palace. This event was reflected in the engraving and became the reason for the drawing by N. Samokish "Departure of the widowed Empress Maria Feodorovna with Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna to hunt hare-baiting, 1814".

Emperor Alexander I rather acted as a protector of nature, feeding the birds in the Tsarskoye Selo lakes. Despite the fact that he was a good rifle shooter and in 1822 won a prize in a competition during the Verona Congress, the life surgeon D.K. Tarasov tells in his memoirs that the sovereign often visited the poultry yard during his stay in Tsarskoye Selo. Early in the morning, the sovereign “went out into the garden through his own exit to his alley, from which he constantly went to the dam of a large lake, where they usually expected him: the chief gardener Lyamin and the whole bird community (up to a hundred swans, as well as geese and ducks. - L. V .), which lived in a poultry yard near this dam. By the time His Majesty came, the poultrymen used to prepare various kinds of food for the birds in baskets. Sensing the approach of the sovereign from afar, all the birds greeted him in their different voices. Approaching the baskets, his majesty put on a glove specially prepared for him and began to distribute food to them himself. On June 20, 1818 Emperor Alexander I showed this Tsarskoye Selo poultry yard to the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm during his visit to St. Petersburg together with his heir Prince Wilhelm. The documents testify: “40 minutes of the 8th hour (in the evening. - BUT. C.) The highest family deigned to go to the garden to the poultry yard in a droshky: His Majesty the King (of Prussia) with Empress Elizabeth Alekseevna, the Sovereign Emperor with Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna ... Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich with Crown Prince Wilhelm, Prince of Mecklenburg with Hesse-Homburg in accompanied by a retinue ... "The artist A. Benois created a drawing on this subject" Feeding birds by Emperor Alexander I in the "bird yard" in Tsarskoe Selo, in the presence of Emperor Friedrich-Wilhelm" .

The size of court hunting under Alexander I was reduced even more. Shortly after accession to the throne, on December 18, 1801, a new state of the Imperial Hunt was issued, in which it was approved:

"Among the first persons of the Court" - Chief Jägermeister with a content of 4188 rubles. Among the second ranks of the court is the Jägermeister with a salary of 2532 rubles, then, in addition, part of the Chief Jägermeister, including the Unter Jägermeister with a salary of 1500 rubles. The “states” of horses and dogs were also approved: jaeger horses - 32, bird hunting - 10, draft horses - 12, dog hunting - 40, "for various trips" - 6. For fodder, forging and purchasing horses, counting the service of a horse at 4 years , and its cost is 24 rubles, 11,859 rubles. 50 kop. Greyhound dogs - 20, hounds - 60, muzzles - 10. For their food ... - 1650 rubles. 10,000 rubles were allocated for the maintenance of menageries, 1,200 rubles for pigeons and other birds in the Hermitage. The total annual expense is 55,142 rubles. 33 kopecks, not including the salary of the Chief Jägermeister and Jägermeister.

Nevertheless, starting in 1811, the cost of court hunting significantly exceeded the estimate. In a decade (from 1811 to 1820) they reached 73,000 rubles. per year, in the next decade - 100,000 rubles. in year.

The general decline of the institutions of the Imperial hunting was also reflected in the Peterhof menagerie. The territory occupied by the menagerie was reduced and in 1798 a plot was allocated from it for the food warehouses of the cuirassier regiment; and in 1818, up to 55 acres were allotted for cattle pasture of the inhabitants of Peterhof. The small menagerie that existed near the English Garden was destroyed in 1823. The deer it contained and several buffalo were transferred to the Great Menagerie.

In 1816, two more elephants were brought from Persia, presented to Emperor Alexander I by the Persian Shah. Their image is preserved in the lithographic drawing. 1905 rubles were allocated for the maintenance of two elephants. per year, and on the salary of their Persian drovers 100 rubles. to each. Elephants were supposed to feed daily: 4 pounds of wheat bread, 6 pounds of cow butter, 10 pounds of honey, 2 pounds of sugar, 10 pounds of hay, 5 pounds of straw, spicy roots for 5 rubles. In 1823, one of these elephants fell (he was given to the Kunstkamera), and the elephant left alone in 1827 was transferred to Tsarskoye Selo. In 1806, the board of the White Sea company presented Emperor Alexander I with a polar bear, which was kept in the Volyn hunting yard during dog hunting.

A devastating flood on November 7, 1824 struck the buildings of the Imperial Hunt in St. Petersburg on the river. Fontanka. Drowned 7 horses, several hounds. In general, by the end of the 1920s all Moscow hunting - bird, animal and even dog - fell into complete decline. They were finally abolished at the beginning of the reign of Nicholas I.

In the last years of the reign of Emperor Alexander I, sometimes hunts were organized for Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich. The first information about them dates back to 1818. Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, later empress, recalled: “Maman allowed her son to spend several days in Gatchina for hunting. We gladly prepared to take advantage of this permission and spent a very pleasant time in Gatchina in a close circle, which was made up of the chief master of ceremonies, Prince Yakov Lobanov, his son, adjutant wing, Prince Alexander Lobanov, Count Ribopierre and our little Anichkov court. I enjoyed life in a country castle and hunting very much; everyone was cheerful, amiable, each talkative in his own way, and everyone parted pleased with each other. Rather, it was a kind of outlet and an attempt to escape from the strict control of the august mother Maria Feodorovna for several autumn days. The statement of the historian of the Imperial Hunt N. Kutepov is rather controversial, that Nikolai Pavlovich "fell in love with hunting in his youth and subsequently, upon accession to the throne, annually devoted several autumn days to his favorite entertainment."

However, the French writer Francois Anselot could still skeptically observe falconry and dog hunting in a series of coronation festivities in 1826. He wrote in one of his September letters: “Yesterday ... the imperial hunting yard, wanting to contribute to entertainment, showed us on a vast plain Sokolniki canine and falconry ... The unfortunate hares were brought in bags, two were released on a signal, and before they had time to run even a few tuazes, they let two huge long-haired greyhounds follow them, who instantly caught up with their victims and dealt with them.

[…] Twelve rangers rode out onto the plain on horseback, and each held a falcon on his arm with a cap on his head; as soon as treacherous freedom was granted to the captive ravens, condemned to death in the claws of falcons, the birds flew up to a great height and began to soar above the victims, who desperate cries vainly prayed for help ... The ravens soon returned to seek refuge on earth ... Only one raven, entrusting his salvation strength of his own wings, paid with his life for this indiscretion.

On April 26, 1826, the staff of the court hunting was again reduced. Moscow falconry was abolished, and in 1828 the Izmailovsky menagerie was handed over to the Kremlin expedition in a dilapidated form. The new staff for the Jägermeister department was issued on January 22, 1833. The hunting staff was reduced to 108 people; up to 24,000 rubles were allocated for their maintenance. ass.; up to 102,000 rubles were allocated for the maintenance of the entire department. ass. As N. Kutepov notes, “a distinctive feature of the state in 1833 ... was the distribution of hunting servants not according to the main parts of the latter, but according to articles, depending on the content they received. Three such articles were found: the first included the senior huntsman, the senior doezzhachiy, stirrup, etc.; to the second - junior huntsmen, junior reaching, stirrup, wabler, vyzhlyatnikov; finally, in the third article - hunters' apprentices, stirrup, junior shadowers, vigilante apprentices, welders, junior grooms, furriers of the Peterhof menagerie, etc."

It should be clarified that the hunter in dog hunting is a hunter who is in charge of hounds. The older survivor is called the doezzhachim. Wabelschik - a huntsman, a hunter who lures the beast to shoot by imitation of his voice or reveals the location of the object by the response. Stremyannoy is a senior groom. Tenetchiki - these are huntsmen who, hiding at the nets (nets), accept with batons or knit animals that are driven by beaters (catchers) coming from the opposite side.

From the reign of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna until the beginning of the reign of Emperor Nicholas I, the Imperial Hunt was located at the Okhotny Yard near the Obukhov Bridge on the Fontanka. In April 1828, a decision was made to transfer to Peterhof, where all the hunting establishments that had previously been located in St. Petersburg and other places were concentrated.

Since 1827, the territory to the south of the English Park began to be built up under the name of the Jaeger settlement, where the court huntsmen and dog hunts were located. An animal house was set up in the settlement itself. The center of hunting establishments in Peterhof was also the Great Peterhof menagerie, in which a hare cage, deer, pheasant and partridge establishments were arranged, and next to the latter there was a harness for hares. Only the Jägermeister office remained in St. Petersburg in the 1830s. housed in the so-called Jesuit house (No. 59) on the Catherine Canal, near the Mikhailovsky Theatre.

At the end of 1838, Baron Frederiks, the temporary head of the Jägermeister Department, and after him, Chief Jägermeister Vasilchikov, presented the drafts of new states to the Minister of the Imperial Court, which were approved. Dog hunting, which had fallen into disrepair, was reduced as unclaimed. At the same time, it was decided to multiply the pheasant and partridge establishments. By this state, on January 1, 1843, the total number of ranks was increased to 126 people (18 more against the state of 1838). The last years after the resignation of Vasilchikov, the Imperial hunt was headed by Count Fersen. By 1853, dog hunting consisted of greyhounds and hounds. There were dogs of other breeds: Medelyanskie, wind divers and setters, but in small numbers.

But dogs are different for dogs. The historian N. Kutepov writes: “During the imperial hunt, on special grounds, dogs were kept that were the property of the emperor, empress, heir to the crown prince and some grand dukes. Of the own dogs of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich, there were 7 dogs here in 1842 (3 adult pointing dogs and 4 puppies, the breed of which is not indicated), in 1848 - 2 dogs: a diver "Hector" and a puppy poodle; finally, in 1850 the number of these dogs obviously increased, since more than 600 rubles a year were allocated for their maintenance from the emperor's own funds. Of the dogs of the Empress in 1841-42, two "charlottes" were kept here.

However, the Spartan inclinations of Nikolai Pavlovich affected the fact that, as Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna noted, he “did not even like hunting.” A. V. Evald, a Gatchina resident, also wrote about this: “Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was not a passionate hunter. Sometimes he went out with a gun to the palace park or menagerie, shooting a couple of wild ducks, and even then rarely. Another opinion is expressed by the historian N. Kutepov: “Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich was not a passionate hunter, like many Russian sovereigns of previous centuries or like his royal son Emperor Alexander II, but he was far from alien to the entertainment of hunting, and his beautiful knightly image is one of the best decorations of our Imperial hunt". Among the illustrations for the fourth volume of N. Kutepov's book of the 1904 edition is a drawing by N. Samokish "Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich in a hunting suit" (from a portrait located in the Shchukin Museum (Moscow). A hunting episode related to the stay of Alexandra Feodorovna in the Bavarian resort is known Kreit in the summer of 1838, when her royal husband, who was on a business trip abroad, visited her.The episode can be seen in the painting by I. Repin "Emperor Nicholas I and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in Kreit, in the mountains of Tyrol."

The circumstances of the accession to the throne of Nicholas I, the Russian-Persian war, the beginning of the Russian-Turkish war did not contribute to hunting entertainment. The first brief news about the hunt, arranged by the Jägermeister Office, refers to the previously mentioned visit of the Persian prince Khosrov-Mirza. The hunt was arranged on January 30, 1829 in Peterhof at "Her Majesty's Own Dacha", not far from "Alexandria". It is possible that the episode preserved in the memoirs of M.F. Kamenskaya also dates back to this time. She spoke about one of the dwarfs that belonged to the Vasilchikovs. The dwarf's name was Sofron Osipovich, he was in the late 1820s. about 50 years old, he was literate and was known as a great dandy: “A fifty-year-old baby, in addition to his mind, sharpness and resourcefulness, was also a passionate hunter and well-aimed shooter. So Prince Illarion Vasilyevich Vasilchikov once came up with the idea to take his Sofrosh with him on the royal hunt and amuse the sovereign with him. The prince's invention was a success: Sofrosha on the hunt did not give almost a single miss and, with his deft words, made Nikolai Pavlovich laugh. At breakfast, they say, the sovereign seated the dwarf beside him and, graciously patting him on the shoulder, asked: "Well, little man, are you satisfied with today?" - "Immensely happy, Your Majesty, and I will not forget this day until my last breath..." forgot it." - "Accept me to serve in your hunting, your majesty, and let me wear her uniform. Then, even if I could forget today, it would be impossible for me ..." The sovereign burst out laughing and immediately ordered Prince Vasilchikov to enlist the funny dwarf in his hunting and ordered to dress him in a uniform.

The first records of chamber-Fourier magazines about the hunts of Emperor Nicholas I in Gatchina date back to September 1831. Here is an excerpt from N. Kutepov’s book, written on the basis of archival documents: “On September 23 of this year, the sovereign went on a deer hunt for deer and wild goats in Sylvia at the beginning of the first hour. He was accompanied by the Minister of the Court, Prince Volkonsky, and the Adjutant General, Prince Vasilchikov, Count Chernyshev, Khrapovitsky, Counts Orlov and Adlerberg. In addition to deer, the emperor also shot ducks that day. The Empress arrived at the hunting place in an English carriage with maids of honor, but soon, without waiting for the sovereign, who was carried away by hunting, she left for the farm for breakfast. “Sir Emperor,” as noted in the Chamber Fourier magazine, “frishtykat (breakfast. - BUT. V.) did not deign, but spent all the time hunting and after it, with the Minister of the Court, Prince. Volkonsky, returned to the courtyard on foot 15 minutes after 4 o'clock. All the persons who participated in this supreme hunt were then invited to the palace to the dinner table.

The next day, also at the beginning of the 1st hour, the sovereign in the line went to hunt hares in the Priory, accompanied by the Prince of Oldenburg, Prince Volkonsky, the life physician Willie and other persons. Bad hunting prevented the success of the hunt; poisoned only twice and took three birds with one stone. The heir Alexander Nikolaevich also participated in this hunt with his tutor K. K. Merder. At three o'clock I arrived at breakfast in an earthen house (the Priory Palace of the architect N. A. Lvov, built in earth-beating technique. - BUT. V.), where the empress came after him.

Starting from 1831 to 1851, almost every autumn, camera-Fourier magazines note the hunting entertainments of Nikolai Pavlovich. “The exact information about all the hunts of Emperor Nicholas I has not been preserved,” writes N. Kutepov. - It also happened that the sovereign hunted in the summer, in July and August, while living in Peterhof; his hunts here in August 1834 are especially often mentioned. In August 1834, the emperor hunted alone in a carriage 12 miles from Peterhof. There, near the village of Babi Gony (Babigon), an animal hunt was arranged for him.

After 1850, Nikolai Pavlovich rarely picked up a hunting rifle. It is only known that on March 16, 1850, he was present at the hunt during the mounting of wolves and hares in the Peterhof pheasant establishment. The following year, on November 3, 1851, during his stay in Tsarskoe Selo, the emperor made a trip to Gatchina with the grand dukes and a large number of close associates to hunt deer.

Nikolai Pavlovich did not like hunting large game, wolf and bear hunting, as well as moose. He preferred to hunt ducks, partridges, pheasants, hares, and occasionally deer. Sometimes during forced waiting (in quarantine) a raven shot. Hunting for big game was associated with the visits of the most august persons and distinguished foreign guests. Some of them he attended in person. In July 1839, a hunt was arranged in the presence of Nicholas I in the Peterhof menagerie for the Austrian Archduke Albert and Prince Alexander of the Netherlands; in October 1840 deer hunting in the Gatchina menagerie - for Prince Alexander and Princess Maria of Darmstadt. In 1846, in early August, in the presence of Nikolai Pavlovich, a hunt took place in Peterhof, in the Fox Grove of the English Garden in honor of the Grand and Hereditary Dukes of Weimar. In October, in the Gatchina deer menagerie, there was a hunt for princes Alexander of Hesse and Peter of Oldenburg.

On August 9, 1846, Nicholas I participated in a hunt in the Peterhof menagerie for the Crown Prince of Württemberg, Karl, who arrived in St. Petersburg to marry Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna, and the princes of Prussia and Holstein who came to this event. For the Prince of Württemberg, hunting for wolves and bears was organized separately. The secretary of Prince Hohländer has preserved for us a description of a curious episode of this hunt: “Once there was a hunt for wolves and a bear. The animals were kept in large cages near Peterhof. The wolves were very wild. The bear, not very big, sitting on its hind legs, "served" willingly if they gave him sugar, and allowed his head and paws to be stroked so good-naturedly that we were all convinced that he was tame. While hunting, the Prussian prince shot him dead. The next day I visited him, and when he said to me: “Congratulate me, I shot a bear yesterday,” I answered him laughingly: “Exactly so, Your Highness, but the beast was tame; we fed him sugar and stroked his head." The prince, not at all offended, answered, laughing good-naturedly: “To tell the truth, it’s bad that I was forced to shoot a tame bear, but everyone knows that I will be able to cope with a wild one.”

The next year, on August 29, 1847, Nikolai Pavlovich hunted wolves with the Grand Dukes and the Prince of Württemberg. Historian N. Kutepov writes: “This is one of the rare cases of his participation in wolf hunting. At that time, all the wolves kept in the animal yard in the court hunting settlement were released into the Peterhof deer menagerie, and all these wolves were shot. In September of the same year, another wolf hunt was arranged for the Prince of Württemberg, near the villages of Negoditsa and Klotitsa, but the sovereign did not participate in it. The prince was extremely pleased and spoke with great approval about the team and especially about the ride of the hound pack.

In 1848, Nicholas I, during his stay in Peterhof, participated in the persecution of animals together with the Grand Dukes and the Prince of Mecklenburg. It is known that in August 1854 the Crown Prince of Württemberg hunted bear and elk. Hunting was organized in different reserves. In particular, on February 20, 1851, a bear hunt for foreign envoys was organized near the Sosnitsa station. But most often hunting for big game was usually arranged in the Gatchina menagerie.

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From the author's book

Part 1 "Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial hunting in Russia" N.I.

Silver corner in the form of a double-headed eagle from a tray copy and front cover of volume III [Imperial hunting in Russia, late 17th and 18th centuries. 1902]

Introduction. About the interest of every Russian.

In Soviet times, the attitude to antiquarian books, to put it mildly, was different. Any collector who started collecting in the 1960s and 70s has a story ready: how the Brockhaus and Efron encyclopedia (almost any book masterpiece can be inserted here) was brought into waste paper for a volume of Conan Doyle. But there is a book that was valued in the days of any empire - both Russian and Soviet. And any man in the street, far from books, having cast one glance at her, understood that something very valuable was in front of him. I'm talking about 4 volumes of N. I. Kutepov "Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial hunting in Russia", which are most often abbreviated as "Royal Hunt".

In our time, when the price is set by the market, its value at auctions ranges from 100 to 200 thousand dollars, when we hear the price, we wave our heads: "an absolute masterpiece." In the days of Soviet second-hand book dealers with traditional receivers, prices were set by the state and were reflected in the price list catalogs of the USSR. With all due respect to these catalogs, they did not set criteria for book value (although the 4-volume edition in question was listed in the “Russian History” section of Mosbukkniga, No. 189, with a value of 1250-1500 rubles). For me, the moment was indicative when, in order to show me, the boy, the "Royal Hunt", my father negotiated with the Department of Rare Books of the University. For understanding: I could see the rest of the book rarities from my father's acquaintances.

The value of the book at all times was provided by a combination of components: kings (read - empire), hunting and magnificent illustrations. The words "empire" and "hunting" have always caressed the ears of the Russian people. No wonder the spiritual father of the publication, Emperor Alexander III, said about him: "This work is all the more desirable because it is of interest to every Russian". The book from the moment of its release, having a huge price tag - 50 rubles per volume, has always been a success.

Recently, many articles about this edition have appeared, most of them posted on the Internet. So my note is a sort of summary of these articles; however, there are some developments. Initially, my plan was to describe each volume of the publication separately and include illustrations. But it turned out our mutual friend gpib (Historical Library) gave us all a gift by scanning all 4 volumes and laying it out for free and did not say anything. See the link at the end of the post. So now you don’t have to sell a couple of apartments to look through a masterpiece. And I can focus on the description of the edition.

How it all began.

Thanks to this edition, Alexander III went down in history as a hunter. Although, if you read the works of historians, the tsar preferred fishing to hunting (remember the famous: “Europe can wait until the Russian tsar catches fish”). The emperor expressed his desire to create a work on the history of royal hunting in Russia, not holding a wild boar at gunpoint, but while inspecting the hunting grounds in Gatchina. The order was given Head of the Imperial Hunt Prince Dmitry Borisovich Golitsyn, and he, in turn, forwarded it to his deputy, Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Kutepov. The biography of the colonel, and after writing the publication, I do not cite the major general, in WiKi is fully revealed .

General Kutepov at a costume ball in 1903 dressed as a falconer and watercolor by Samokish N. "Falconer".

Kutepov N.I. was not a professional writer, but the talent of a researcher and a good organizer was fully revealed while fulfilling the royal commission. Numerous archives have been studied, many materials from them are reproduced in the publication.

He attracted scientists and collectors to work. Not only used their materials (numerous engravings in the publication from the famous collection Dashkov Pavel Yakovlevich (1849-1910)), but also by their advice. Among them: A. F. Bychkov, V. V. Stasov, N. P. Likhachev, A. A. Favorsky, S. L. Shiryaev, S. N. Shubinsky, S. A. Belokurov, N. P. Pavlov -Silvansky, A. V. Polovtsov, G. V. Esipov, V. P. Lambin, I. M. Gubkin.

It is not surprising that the colonel became a first-class specialist in the history of Russian hunting. It was he who was entrusted with writing the corresponding article for the "Encyclopedic Dictionary" of Brockhaus and Efron (vol. XXXVII a, pp. 808-811).

The initial result was the publication in 1893 of "Aide-memoire on the state of affairs in compiling the Collection of Materials Concerning the History of the Grand-Ducal, Tsarist and Imperial Hunts in Russia". A sort of, as it is fashionable to say now, a roadmap for a future edition.

The circulation of the book was 10 copies and was intended solely for the royal person. The binding was appropriate: on a dark green background in the middle - an imperial double-headed eagle embossed with gold, clutching two hunting horns in its paws; in the lower right corner there is an inscription in gold embossing: “1891-1893. G.Gatchino.

Researchers point out that there was also a trial edition: it was also published in a circulation of 10 copies, later it was increased by 35 copies. But I did not find information about it, and there are discrepancies in the articles, so I do not dwell on it.

After the content of the essays was approved by Alexander III, it was decided to involve the best artists in the publication, and to entrust the publication itself Expeditions for the preparation of state papers(we talked about the predecessor of Goznak in, in the future I will definitely dedicate a separate note to this printing house).

The emperor himself did not live to see the publication of the first volume. The memory of him is captured in the publication - in the dedication: “This work is reverently dedicated to the blessed and eternal memory of the great sovereign Alexander III, begun according to his royal desire, fulfilled according to his thoughts”, and in the design of books. On the cover of the binding of volume I is the monogram of Alexander III with the image of the imperial crown in the rays of the sun.

The success of the publication is certainly the work of the best artists. Worked on it the most Samokish Nikolay Semyonovich. He is the author of the design of the bindings of all volumes (ornaments, endpaper drawings) and he made 173 miniatures in the text.

Even an incomplete list of authors whose works are presented in the "Hunt" includes the entire color of Russian painting: E. E. Lansere, A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, K. V. Lebedev, A. P. Ryabushkin, L O. Pasternak, V. I. Surikov, A. M. Vasnetsov, I. E. Repin, V. A. Serov, A. S. Stepanov, A. K. Beggrov, F. A. Rubo, A. V Makovsky N. E. Sverchkov, V. I. Navozov, P. P. Sokolov, M. A. Zichy, Ya. I. Brovar, A. E. Karneev, V. G. Schwartz, V. Yakobi.

Kutepov himself supervised the work of painters and the head of the artistic part of the Expedition, a professional engraver Gustav Ignatievich Frank. He played the role of a playing coach: he made one of the five etchings - "Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Zakharyin-Yuriev" from the original by I.E. Repin for the 2nd volume.

The publication uses the entire available set for reproduction of images: autotype and chromolithography, heliogravures and etchings.

T. 1. - Great princely and royal hunting in Russia from the 10th to the 16th century. - N.S. Samokish and V.M. Vasnetsov.
T. 2. - Royal hunting in Russia of Tsars Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich. XVII century. - V.M. Vasnetsov, K.V. Lebedev, I.E. Repin, A.P. Ryabushkin, F.A. Roubaud, N.S. Samokish and V.I. Surikov.
T. 3. - Royal and imperial hunting in Russia. Late 17th and 18th centuries. – A.N. Benois, A.M. Vasnetsov, E.E. Lansere, K.V. Lebedev, L.O. Pasternak, I.E. Repin, A.P. Ryabushkin, N.S. Samokish, A.S. Stepanov, V.A. Serov and V.I. Surikov.
T. 4. - Imperial hunting in Russia. End of the 18th and 19th centuries. - A.N. Benois, K.V. Lebedev, L.O. Pasternak, I.E. Repin, N.S. Samokish, Zichy M.A. and A.S. Stepanov.

Many researchers note that there should have been volume 5 dedicated to the reign of Alexander III. But Kutepov did not have time to describe the time in which he lived. By the way, the fourth volume was published after the death of the general, thanks to the efforts of the widow, Elena Andreevna.

Specially for this edition was cast font "medieval" and developed a special kind of coated paper.

Circulation of "royal books of high quality" and edition options.

There is no reliable information about the circulation of beautiful volumes of the “in quarto” format. Researchers suggest that the circulation of the first volume was 400 copies, the rest - 500. The publication had several versions.

Tray option. Full leather bindings with silver corners in the form of double-headed eagles. 84 sample of silver. Triple gold trim and moire endpapers. Each volume is in a special case, lined with cloth from the inside. (I am typing, but my own hands do not obey from such delights).

The usual option. Half-leather bindings. On the top covers of both versions, decorative symbolic compositions were executed with gold and color embossing.

The authors of some descriptions mention a simple version of the publication - paper publishing covers. I deeply doubt that part of the limited edition came out in simple paper covers (for independent binding), I have never seen a mention of such a form among the auctioneers.

Part of the circulation is numbered, as modern authors suggest, the number of numbered copies was very small (it was definitely up to 190 (this copy was exhibited by AD "On Nikitsky"). On the contrary, both Burtsev and Berezin (N.B.) in their catalogs say that all copies were numbered.

There are references that the bindings were made workshop of Kirchner Otto Frantsevich (Kirchner Otto Francevich). I readily believe it: he had the status of "Supplier of the Court of His Imperial Majesty."

French edition

The expedition published the same edition in French.

Coutepoff, N. La chasse grand-ducale et tsarienne en Russie. S.-P.: Expedition pour la confection des papiers d "etat, 1896-1900.

The translator was Dr. Alexis Lurus. Under this mysterious nickname, a journalist was opened Wolf Alexey Andreevich(? -1901) (Masanov I.F. Dictionary of pseudonyms of Russian writers, scientists and public figures: In 4 vols. T. 3. M., 1958. S. 318).

The design practically did not differ from the publication in Russian. The changes were not significant (for example: the spelling of the title was done in the Gothic style).

Only 2 volumes were published, with a circulation of 200 copies. Why the publication did not come out to the end - I did not find the answer.

instead of a conclusion.

"Royal Hunt" is a typical example of a valuable, but not rare publication. In fact, it is always on sale (at the moment there are at least two offers, the price, however, is a cosmic 12 million rubles).

Sources:

Contemporary articles:

• Piggot E. "Graceful, luxurious, artistic ..." (About the book by N. I. Kutepov "Royal hunting in Russia")// Antiques. Art and collectibles. M., 2002. No. 3. pp. 26-31;
• Aksenova G.V. “Grand-Ducal, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia” by Nikolai Kutepov / N. I. Kutepov. Grand Duke and Royal hunting in Russia. - M., 2002;
• Aksenova G.V. Russian book culture at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries: Monograph.– M.: MPGU, 2011. 200 p.;
• Vlasova R.I. Illustrations and artistic design of N. I. Kutepov’s essays “Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia” Volume I // Museums of Russia: searches, research, work experience. Collection of scientific papers. SPb., 2005. No. 8. [page is not always available];
• Bortsova E.A. Old Russian motifs in the book works of N. S. Samokish (on the example of N. I. Kutepov’s publication “The Grand Duke, Tsar and Imperial Hunting in Russia) // Bulletin of Slavic Cultures. M. 2014. No. 4 (34).

Historical documents:

Bibliographic indexes and catalogues:

Vengerov A. and S. Bibliography. 1647–1977 in some kingdom. Book I No. 109;

N.B. [Berezin, N. I.] Russian book rarities No. 146. (II part p. 36);

Burtsev A.E. "A Comprehensive Bibliographic Description of Rare and Remarkable Books". SPb., 1901, vol. I, no. 156, p. 110;

Antiquarian catalog JSC "Mezhdunarodnaya kniga" No. 44. "Art and Anniversary Editions (a book in an elegant design)". M. 1934, No. 171. ($50);

Bibliographic index of literature and recommended prices for the section "Russian History" Mosbukkniga, No. 189;

Anofriev N.Yu. Russian hunting library. A complete list of books and brochures with brief reviews about each of them. Brest-Litovsk, 1905, pp. 38-39;

Schwerdt's collection of. Hunting, Hawking, Shooting books. Vol. I, p.p. 291-292;

The Paul M. Fekula collection. A catalogue. N.Y., 1988, No. 2575;

P.S. True, I did not quite understand why the bibliographic description indicated: 2nd edition. (Samples with a circulation of 10 to 35 copies without illustrations, it seems, cannot be considered as 1 edition).

I wanted to draw attention to the bookmarks on copies of the GPIB. According to them: Volume 1 belonged to Bobrinsky Alexey Alexandrovich (1852-1927). Volume 2 - Count Kutaisov Konstantin Pavlovich, volume 4 - Library of the Russian Historical Museum of Alexander III.

"Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia" is the most famous and most voluminous tome dedicated to Russian hunting. But, in addition to the second-hand book value, “Hunting in Russia” is considered one of the most detailed works describing the life and foundations of life of an entire era of the Russian Empire, from the 10th century until the reign of Alexander III. This is one of the main sources used to study the history of Russian diplomacy, court life and contains excerpts from many historical documents of that time.

And it all started quite prosaically. Emperor Alexander III, being a big fan of Russian hunting, decided to put together those stories, customs, traditions that had previously been passed from mouth to mouth from one generation of hunters to another. He decided to entrust this work not to a historian or writer, but to retired colonel Nikolai Kutepov, who at that time was an ordinary supply manager at the court and was responsible for providing the Royal Hunt with inventory.

But Colonel Kutepov reacted to the instructions with unprecedented zeal. Being an avid hunter himself, Kutepov emphasized the objectivity and accuracy of the information offered. He studied many documents, described a lot of events, worked a lot with illustrators to convey an absolutely accurate picture of what was happening on the royal hunt for 10 centuries.

The book "Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia" has one more value. It contains drawings of the most prominent artists of that time. To illustrate the publication, such masters as the Vasnetsov brothers, Ilya Repin, Valentin Serov and many others specially drew their pictures. In total, the book included the works of 18 leading artists and painters of that time. Nikolai Samokish, who was responsible for the overall layout and design of publications, became a famous animal artist thanks to the book.

"Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia" consists of four volumes. Each volume was devoted to a certain period of time. Thus, the first volume, published in 1896, described the period from the 10th to the 16th centuries, the second (1898) - the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich and Alexei Mikhailovich in the 17th century, the third (1902) - the period of the 17th - 18th centuries, and the fourth (already published Kutepov's wife after her husband's death in 1911) was devoted to the peculiarities of hunting over the past hundred years. Despite the fact that the customer of the work, Alexander III, never saw it, Kutepov wrote in the preface of each volume that the book was created in memory of the Peacemaker Emperor and strictly in accordance with his wishes and recommendations.

Despite the rather high cost (in Felten's print shop in 1911, the book cost as much as 50 rubles), it was quite popular. Even during the life of the author, it was reprinted several times, although the circulation was very small. The book was at that time really very complex technologically and expensive to manufacture. In total, no more than 500 complete copies were published, some of which have survived to this day and today are of great second-hand value.

"Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia" - an article about the unique work of Nikolai Kutepov and the history of its creation

Kutepov N. "Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia"

This four-volume edition is one of the best examples of book publishing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The historical essay covers a large period in Russian history, from the first princes of Ancient Russia to the reign of Emperor Alexander II, and tells not only about the history of hunting, but also about the lifestyle of Russian monarchs and their hobbies.

The book contains unique historical material from the moment the Old Russian state was formed until the end of the 19th century. The publication provides evidence of the prevalence of hunting, the abundance of game and the use of hunting products; references in chronicles about the beliefs of the people related to hunting; the meaning of royal hunting is everyday and political; sending birds of prey and falconers to foreign lands, with the addition of information about the purpose of the embassies, the reception of ambassadors and special circumstances.

There are also excerpts from the hunting diaries of the kings with a description of the royal hunts, places of production of this or that hunt, special circumstances accompanying the hunt, and so on; certificates of organization and personnel of bird and dog hunting, beavers, hunting horses, hunting equipment; bear and lion fun; hunting spells, beliefs and more. The book is one of the best works of Russian book art. Immediately after its publication, the edition became a legend and a bibliographic rarity.

The author of the idea of ​​creating such a book was Emperor Alexander III, who expressed a wish to write the history of the royal hunt in Russia. The publication was to be illustrated by the best Russian artists. This order was given to the Imperial Hunting Department, in which N.I. Kutepov served as the head of the economic part of the Imperial hunt.

Since Kutepov's place of service was in Gatchina, it can be said that the book "Grand Duke, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia" was born here. In 1893 was published " Aide-memoire on the state of affairs in compiling the Collection of Materials Concerning the Grand-Ducal, Royal and Imperial Hunting in Russia”, a kind of detailed plan for a future book. In the center of the cover of the copy kept in the Russian State Library (Moscow), an imperial double-headed eagle was depicted clutching two hunting horns in its paws, and in the lower right corner there was an inscription “ 1891–1893 Gatchino».

N.I. Kutepov did a lot of research work, collecting all the documents on the history of hunting known by that time in Russian archives and libraries. The Notes, which make up almost half of each volume, contain the texts of authentic historical documents. Until now, this work is unsurpassed in the richness of the collected materials.

In the service of N.I. Kutepov was distinguished by good organizational skills, which helped him in creating an excellent team of artists who worked on the design of the "Royal Hunt". The book contains works of famous Russian artists - I.E. Repin, F.A. Rubo, V.A. Serov, V.I. Surikova, L.O. Pasternak, A.P. Ryabushkina, A.M. and V.M. Vasnetsov and many others. The author of the cover design of the edition, drawings of endpapers and many illustrations in the text was Nikolai Semenovich Samokish- one of the outstanding graphic artists of the late XIX - early XX century.

"Royal Hunt" N.I. Kutepova contributed to an increase in interest in book graphics and illustration, thereby developing the art of decorating books.

The essay appeared in several editions. The book was originally bound in dark green calico without illustrations, with minimal embellishment in the form of modest endings that close the chapters. The work received the highest approval. After that, N.I. Kutepov set about publishing the book in the form that Alexander III dreamed of. The publication was carried out in the printing house of the Expedition for the Procurement of State Papers, which was considered the best printing house of that time in Russia. The equipment of the printing house made it possible to produce beautiful fonts, reproduce the drawings of artists, and make silver corners in the form of double-headed eagles. High-quality paper was used, expensive materials for luxurious bindings. Interest in bibliophile publications, which are works of art in the book business, was characteristic of that time, and this book became such.

First volume, dedicated to the history of the grand ducal and royal hunting in Russia from the 10th to the 16th centuries, was published in 1896 year. The book contained a dedication "To the Blessed and Eternal Memory of the Great Sovereign Alexander III", which was reproduced in all subsequent volumes. Second volume, telling about the royal hunt in the 17th century, was published in 1898 year. Copies using the most expensive materials were intended for offerings to high-ranking officials, people who assisted in the publication of the book.

In design third volume published in 1902 year, artists - members of the artistic association "World of Art" took part: L.S. Bakst, A.N. Benois, E.E. Lansere. The works of these artists, although they made up only a part of the illustrations and design of the "Royal and Imperial Hunt", immediately changed the look of the publication, giving it new qualities. Participation in this project was of considerable importance for the "World of Art" and for the history of Russian book graphics. In this work, new principles for the design and illustration of books on a historical theme were developed, the foundations were laid for the graphic style of the World of Art association, where a deep knowledge of the culture of the depicted era was combined with a flight of fancy, an understanding of the requirements of book specificity with the freedom and flexibility of artistic language.

Fourth volume, dedicated to the eras of reign from Paul I to Alexander II, was published in 1911 year after the death of N.I. Kutepov, which followed on December 23, 1907 (January 11, 1908). The work was completed thanks to the efforts of his wife Elena Andreevna Kutepova.

The book (volumes 3 and 4) repeatedly mentions the Gatchina lands where the emperors hunted and the history of the Jaeger settlement, which was built in the middle of the 19th century in Gatchina. In the fourth volume, you can see illustrations dedicated to Gatchina: A. Benois “Walk of Emperor Paul I with his retinue through the Menagerie in the mountains. Gatchina", "Walk of the Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich with his wife Alexandra Fedorovna and retinue in the mountains. Gatchina, N. Samokish, Priory Palace in the mountains. Gatchina", "Gatchinka River Valley in Menagerie", "Imperial Gatchina Farm".

Grand ducal, royal and imperial hunting in Russia - the history of creation

"This work is all the more desirable because it is of interest to every Russian ". With these words he accompanied Emperor Alexander III in May 1891 his wish to compile the history of the royal hunt in Russia, expressed to the head of the Imperial hunt, Prince Dmitry Borisovich Golitsyn and the head of the economic department, Colonel Nikolai Ivanovich Kutepov during a round of hunting grounds in Gatchina.

N.I. Kutepov did a great deal of research work, having studied a large number of materials on the history of royal hunts in various Russian archives and libraries. In "Notes", which make up almost half of each volume of the "Royal Hunt in Russia", N.I. Kutepov gave the full texts of the original historical documents with which he worked. The scientific value of the materials collected by N.I. Kutepov, is also confirmed by the fact that he was entrusted with writing an article for F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron, dedicated to the royal and grand-princely hunting in Russia (see v. XXXVIIa, pp. 808-811).

In 1893, N.I. Kutepov published "Aide-memoire on the state of affairs in compiling the "Collection of materials relating to the history of the grand-ducal, royal and imperial hunts in Russia", where he gave a detailed plan for the maintenance of his work for the time period up to the 17th century inclusive. "Memorandum" was published in a dark green binding, in the middle of the front cover there is an imperial double-headed eagle embossed with gold, clutching two hunting horns in its paws; G. Gatchino".

In 1893-1895. in the printing house of the Main Directorate of Appanages in St. Petersburg, the history of the royal hunts, written by N.I. Kutepov, was first published. This edition was exclusively small-circulation and had no illustrations; its purpose explains letter from N.I. Kutepov to the artist V.V. Vereshchagin, with whom he was familiar from the time of hostilities in Bulgaria:

"Dear Vasily Vasilyevich! Here's my brainchild for you: please don't swear, and most importantly, this edition came out in only 10 copies, especially for comrades of good people - so far, quite like His Majesty has not seen him yet - and it is not yet finished literary, and requires a strong and careful proofreading. I published it hastily in this form also because it needs to be illustrated - there is a small fraction of drawings and things of monuments"(State Tretyakov Gallery, f.17, N 806, b / d).

The design of the binding of the publication of the Main Administration of Appanages is similar to the binding of the "Memorandum", only it is full-leather, and the dates indicated on it are 1893-1895. The endpapers are made of light "moire" paper, the edge is covered with gilding. Of the decorations in the text, only modest typographic endings are used.

In May 1894, N.I. Kutepov presented the first volume of the "trial" edition to Alexander III, for which he was awarded royal gratitude and permission to illustrate the edition by the best Russian artists. To do this, it was necessary to find a printing house equipped with very good reproduction equipment. "Great-princely, royal and imperial hunting in Russia" 1896-1911, as you know, published Expedition for procurement of state papers, which by the indicated period was considered the best printing house in Russia.

The expedition was founded in 1818, at the direction of Emperor Alexander I, as a government agency for the manufacture of banknotes and other securities. Along with its direct activities, the Expedition was actively engaged in the publication of books. Being a state institution and, therefore, not being constrained in funds, the Expedition was able to equip its workshops with the most modern equipment. The high level of technical equipment of the Expedition, as well as the presence of leading Russian specialists in the field of printing in its staff, made it possible to produce everything for the publication, which was originally conceived as a luxurious one: and beautiful fonts (" Royal hunting in Russia"was typed in a then new typeface" medieval"), and silver corners in the form of double-headed eagles, and high-quality paper, which has practically not changed its color over a century, and magnificent reproductions of watercolors, tempera and other drawings by artists. artists of the turn of the century - V.M. Vasnetsov, I.E. Repin, A.N. Benois, V.A. Serov, L.O. Pasternak, A.P. Ryabushkin, V.I. reproduced by chromolithography, and the vignettes of the artist N.S. Samokish, which adorned all 4 volumes of the publication, were photographically autotyped.For the chromolithographs pasted into the book, a special kind of thick paper with a relief surface was used. Also, there were captions for the drawings.

Responsible for the reproduction of visual material in the publication was the head of the artistic part of the Expedition, a professional engraver Gustav Ignatievich Frank, who also executed the etching "Fyodor Nikitich Romanov-Zakharyin-Yuriev" from the original by I.E. Repin for the 2nd volume. Here it should be mentioned that, along with autotype and chromolithography, 4 etchings are placed in the "Royal Hunt in Russia" (one mentioned above, in the 2nd volume, and three in the 3rd volume of the edition, from the originals of V.I. Yakobi ), as well as two heliogravures (in the 2nd volume, from the originals by V.I. Surikov and K.V. Lebedev).

More than any other artist, The Royal Hunt in Russia owes its memorable image to Nikolai Semyonovich Samokish, one of the outstanding book graphic artists of the turn of the century. It is he who is the author of the design of the bindings of all four volumes of the publication, as well as the drawings of the endpapers and illustrations in the text (except for the third volume, where the vignettes, along with N.S. and L.S. Bakst). Pen drawings by N.S. Samokish, depicting foot and horse hunters, wild animals, weapons, hunting dogs and birds, were often accompanied by the use of ornamental elements from ancient Russian manuscript books (in the first two volumes of the publication).

A separate group of illustrations is a suite of drawings by N. Samokish for L. Mey's poem "The Redeemer", dedicated to the hunting of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. These illustrations are a combination of graphic drawings, ornamental frames and the text of the poem, written in an old semi-charter. In this original way - "text within the text" - the part of the 2nd volume devoted to notes is illustrated. It is known that The Redeemer, illustrated by N.S. Samokish, was also published as a separate edition.

N.I. Kutepov was not only the author, but also the publisher of his historical work. He invited famous Russian artists to illustrate the book, conducted creative and organizational correspondence with them (for example, discussed plots for illustrations, negotiated the amount of fees, etc.), made the final selection of works for reproduction together with G.I. Frank, was kept abreast of the content of all stages of the publishing and printing process in the Expedition, and subsequently resolved issues related to the distribution of the book.

Four volumes of The Royal Hunt in Russia, as is known, were published in 1896, 1898, 1902 and 1911, respectively. The reason why almost ten years elapsed between the publication of the 3rd and 4th volumes, we learn from letters from the wife of Nikolai Ivanovich Kutepov - Elena Andreevna Kutepova - to the artist A.N. Benois, who took part in illustrating the III and IV volumes of the "Royal Hunt in Russia" (a letter in a mourning frame):

"Dear Alexander Nikolaevich, you, of course, are aware of the terrible grief that befell me, Nikolai Ivanovich died, he died suddenly on December 23 (29-? - indecipherable) December .- The work of his IV volume will not stop and I will be allowed to finish it and publish IV volume. So I ask you to continue your work and if you need anything - any information, please contact me - as I am aware of all the work of my late husband"(GRM, f. 137, item N 1120/1, January 25, 1908)

According to the elegance of design (purple binding with gold embossing, designed by N.S. Samokish in the Empire style, gilded edge, polychrome illustrations, inserts, silk lace) is the last volume of "Royal Hunt in Russia", published with the participation of E.A. Kutepova , in no way inferior to its "predecessors". From her letters to A.N. Benois, we learn that she discussed the drawings of artists for the 4th volume directly with Emperor Nicholas II: " ... I was waiting for a letter from G.I. Frank, where, at my request, he would inform me that he received the picture from you, but before my return to St. I have seen and maybe I will find it necessary to show it to His Majesty, as I do with all the paintings that I received after the death of my husband"(GRM, f. 137, item N 1120/3, July 22, 1908)

The last volume of "Royal Hunt in Russia" ends description of hunting at the court of Alexander II, with the reproduction of a significant number of sketches from nature artist M. Zichy, who repeatedly accompanied the emperor on his trips. Illness and death prevented N.I. Kutepov to highlight that period of the imperial hunts, in which he himself was a direct participant and organizer - the period of the reign of Alexander III. Perhaps this material would have been the final, 5th volume of the deluxe edition.

The appearance of each new volume of the "Royal Hunt in Russia" was accompanied by responses in the press, of which the reviews published in the journal "Historical Bulletin" are of the greatest historical and bibliological interest: reviews by P. Polevoy on the 1st and 2nd volumes (1896 .- T. LXIV, May. - P.676-678; 1899 .- T.XXY, February.- P.683-687) and S. Shubinsky's review of the 3rd volume (1903 .- T.XC1, March.- S.1136-1137).

N.I. Kutepov's publication was exhibited at several exhibitions, the most representative of which were: the exhibition "Art in a book and a poster", held as part of the All-Russian Congress of Artists in St. Petersburg in December 1911 - January 1912. (the 3rd volume of the edition was shown), and the International Exhibition of Printing and Graphics in Leipzig, 1914. (all 4 volumes were exhibited).

"Royal Hunt in Russia" was published in several versions of binding: - full-leather binding, with silver corners of the 84th test in the form of double-headed eagles on the front cover (except for the 4th volume, which had no corners), with a triple gilded edge, in dust jacket in the color of the binding with a double-headed eagle embossed in gold (this version was supposedly intended for offering to high-ranking officials). In such copies there were fabric endpapers, as, for example, in a copy of the 4th volume from the library of Nicholas II (State Hermitage Museum)
– flyleaf and nachzatz moire, on the flyleaf
- Emperor's cypher embossed with gold;
- in calico binding with a leather spine, with a triple gilded edge, with paper endpapers, designed by N.S. Samokish (a similar version was prepared for retail sale; could be purchased at a price of 50 rubles per volume).

In addition, at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. - in the heyday of bibliophilia - they could not help but release numbered copies of such a wonderful edition, using the most expensive materials and in special cases lined with fabric from the inside. The numbers were listed on the volume's title page, which precedes the table of contents, and also on the slipcase label; apparently, there were at least 150 numbered copies (the maximum of those encountered was No. 137).

The circulation of the "Royal Hunt in Russia" was, apparently, small, due to the significant material costs for the publication of "high-quality royal books", as N.I. Kutepov called his brainchild. This explains the fact that the "Royal Hunt in Russia", especially its complete set, is extremely rare on the modern antique second-hand book market.