YUSUPOV, FELIX (1887–1967), AUTOGRAPH Rasputin: His Malignant Influence and His Assassination. Translated from the Russian by Oswald Rayner. Second impression. London: Jonathan Cape, 1927.

256 pp., frontispiece. 20 × 13.5 cm. In English. Black-and-white portrait of the author as frontispiece; portrait of Grigory Rasputin on p. 46. In the publisher's original full-cloth binding, without dust jacket. Gilt lettering to spine. In good condition, with minor rubbing to the binding and a small stain at the head of the spine. Bookseller's label on the rear endpaper. Autograph presentation inscription by the author in English on the verso of the title page: ‘For Mr Birger Nilsen in remembrance from Prince Youssoupoff Paris 1929’. Prince Felix Felixovich Yusupov (1887–1967), the last Prince Yusupov, belonged to one of the most distinguished and wealthy families of the Russian Empire. He is best known for his involvement in the assassination of Grigory Rasputin in 1916. He was married to Grand Duchess Irina Alexandrovna, niece of Emperor Nicholas II. An uncommon early edition of Yusupov's account of Rasputin, rarely encountered on the antiquarian book market. Provenance: Birger Nilsen, the recipient of the inscription, collected autographs of prominent figures during the 1920s, including Winston Churchill and George Gershwin. He is mentioned in historical sources as a military attaché and railway executive.