Engraved title: The | Costume | of the | Empire of Russia | {copper horseman vignette} | signed under: Printed for E. Harding at the Crown and Mitre Pall Mall ||

English title: COSTUME | OF THE | RUSSIAN EMPIRE, | ILLUSTRATED BY UPWARDS OF | SEVENTY RICHLY COLOURED ENGRAVINGS. | DEDICATED BY PERMISSION TO | HER ROYAL HIGHNESS | THE | PRINCESS ELIZABETH. | LONDON: | PRINTED BY T. BENSLEY, BOLT COURT, FLEET STREET; | FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY. | 1811. ||

Paper: thick wove paper, the leaf with “Copper Horseman” watermarked J. Whatman 1808; the French title – Edmeads & Co 1809, E₂ – E & P 1807, plates are not watermarked [NYPL: An “1803” copy of The Costumes of the Russian Empire has watermarks from 1796 (W Elgar), 1809 (Edmeads & Co), 1811, 1813 (J. Whatman), 1818, and 1829].

Collation: 4to; (1) engraved title by E. Harding (“Copper Horseman” monument of Peter the Great), (2) English title, (3) French title, (4) Dedication to her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth by E. Harding (1803), (5) Contents —> π⁵ a² B-S⁴ T², all second leaves in all quires but C and T signed “2”, 77 leaves total, unpaginated, plus 72 plates (34.5 x 25.5 cm), stipple and line engravings, hand-coloured, by John Dadley after William Alexander.

Binding: 36 x 27 cm, straight-grain green morocco, blind-stamped palmette border withing gilt-stamped palmette border to boards, raised bands decorated in gilt, gilt in compartments, two brown morocco labels with gilt lettering, brown endpapers, 2 additional flyleaves at front and back, AEG.

Authorship and artistic work are attributed to Alexander and Dadley, but not signed. 1st edition in 1803 was published by William Richard Beckford Miller (British, 1769 – 1844).

Catalogue raisonné: Tooley (1906): p. 151.

Contributors:

William Alexander (British, 1767 – 1816) – artist, author.

John Dadley (British, 1767 – 1817) – engraver.

Thomas Bensley (British, 1759 – 1835) – printer.

John Stockdale (British, 1750 – 1814) – publisher.

Edward Harding (British, 1755 – 1840) – publisher of 1803 edition (author of dedication)

Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (British, 1770 – 1840) – dedicatee.