Rare books banned in Russia to be sold for thousands

By Emily Phillips

A collection of rare poetry books that were banned in Russia is set to sell for £10,000 (more than $13,000).

The poems are by early Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva who spent decades in exile after condemning the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.

Her husband fought in the anti-communist White Army during the Russian Civil War.

Tsvetaeva's stance against Soviet tyranny, state censorship and militarism ultimately made her a target of state persecution.

Her work was banned in Russia for decades.

The collection now on sale belonged to a U.K. vendor whose distant family fled post-revolutionary Russia and settled in London and Paris in the 1930s.

Andy Stowe, an auctioneer from Auctioneum, says: "It's certainly not something one expects to find here in Bristol.

"These are special pieces of Russian revolution-era literature, they're a long way from home.

"Our client had kept them on a bookshelf for many years.

"While I think they knew they were worth something, they weren't expecting them to be some of the most important works ever discovered."

One of the books — "Molodets" ("The Swain") — was written in 1924 during Tsvetaeva's time in Prague.

"Not only is it an incredible rare first edition, but it's signed by the author too," Andy says.

"We believe this is possibly the only signed copy known to exist.

"But when we discovered an inscription in her hand to the title page dedicated to her husband, Sergey Efron, my jaw hit the floor.

"At one point this had been her personal copy of the work gifted to her 'constant and noble companion.' That took it from simply being rare, to unique."

The collection of books by Tsvetaeva, as well as some other related publications comprises 15 lots in Auctioneum's "Books & Works On Paper" live auction on Sept. 9 in Bath.

The collection is estimated to fetch over £10,000 (more than $13,630).