PUSHKIN ALEXANDER (1799-1937) Gavriliada: A Poem. Paris: Sientifique et Commerciale, 1927.

44 p.; 19.5x14 cm. The edition is printed on Dutch paper in an edition of 500 numbered copies, copy No. 147. In the publisher's typographic cover. In good condition. Cover stains, minor cracks in the block. Label from the "Central Book Trading Company" bookstore in New York on the back of the front cover. The edition contains the full text of the poem with articles: "History of 'Gavriliada,'" "Plot of 'Gavriliada,'" "Text," and "Manuscripts of 'Gavriliada." Rare. The poem, a parody-romantic play on the Gospel story of the Annunciation, the main character is the archangel Gabriel, was written by 22-year-old Pushkin in April 1821 in Kishinev. It was known for some time only in a narrow circle of Pushkin's friends, as a work absolutely unauthorised by the censorship conditions of the time, but since the summer of 1822 it began to circulate in volumes. In 1828, Pushkin, as the author of the poem, was under investigation, which was led by Nicholas I personally. As a result, Pushkin confessed to the authorship of the poem and sincerely regretted it, after which he made considerable efforts to destroy the copies known to him. The poem was banned in Russia, and the autograph has not survived. The first publication of the poem (on the basis of a defective list) was realised in London by N.P. Ogaryov. The first complete Russian edition was published in 1918 under the editorship of V.Y. Brusov. A scientifically established text was prepared in 1922 by B.V. Tomashevsky.