HUGE Kremlin Moscow 83 Hand Tipped Full Color Pix Diamond Crown Cloth of Christ

The Kremlin by David Douglas Duncan.

DESCRIPTION: Hardback with Dust Jacket: 176 pages. Publisher: Abbeyville Press (1979).[Published in 1960 at $25.00. High Quality Printing in Switzerland] Fortress, treasure house, and heart of an Empire, Moscow’s Kremlin is the national shrine of a mighty people; a symbol of the turbulent, dramatic, often tragic history which lies behind the present day reality of the Soviet Union. Within its walls Soviet guards stand watch over incredible riches, the priceless heritage of Old Russia: Monomakh’s Cap of gold, used to crown every Russian sovereign, so ancient its origins are unknown; Ivan the Terrible’s jewel-encrusted Book of Gospels; The Diamond Crown of Peter the Great; the long-lost cloth of Christ; Catherine the Great’s off-the shoulder wedding dress; the Golden Easter Egg given to the last Romanov Emperor shortly before he was murdered.

In 1956 David Douglas Duncan, the internationally famous photographer, astonished art and political circles by winning sudden and unprecedented permission from the Soviets to use his color cameras without restriction within the Kremlin. No other photographer, before or since, has ever been granted such carte blanche authority to carry cameras into the Soviet citadel. Gaining the confidence and friendship of Kremlin guards and of his interpreters, Duncan visited Moscow five times over a period of three years to photograph painstakingly the color and incalculable treasures of church and state, the great cathedrals, the throne rooms and even the bedroom of the Tzars. His color transparencies have been transformed into “The Kremlin”, a photographic document which is unique in subject and execution. Every picture was made with 35mm cameras, then faithfully reproduced by the most advanced technical methods developed in Switzerland.

Duncan, a veteran journalist as well as an artist with a camera, knew that his work represented more than mere photographs of a fabulous collection of Russian art and architecture. The souls of Tzars, Emperors, serfs and revolutionaries were locked within these grimly towering walls. Each crown, each throne, every icon and gem-studded heirloom was witness to the passions of a particular epoch in Russia’s history. Each should be permitted to tell its own romantic and often shocking story. Thus with his exclusive photos as points of departure in a series of chapters on the tyrants, heroes and saints of Russian history, Duncan has written the text and documentary captions for the 83 color plates in this book, interweaving legend, anecdote, and fascinating detail to create a remarkable, composite portrait of a people and land which are little known in the west today.

The Kremlin offers a rare and startlingly beautiful view through the Iron Curtain. Completely non-political, with its combination of panoramic history and brilliant photography, it is an evocation of the spirit of the Russian past as the Russians themselves feel it, somber, mysterious and magnificent. Here, Duncan has caught the spirit of his monumental subject in the written word as well as in the color transparency; eight hundred years of Russian life and, frequently, violent death pass before the reader in these pages.

CONDITION: NEW. Unblemished except modest edge+corner shelf wear to dustjacket and moderate rubbing/soiling to the dustjacket (the dustjacket is glossy white and so will show rub marks even merely from being shelved between other books). There is also a small puncture/tear to the back of the dustjacket, repaired. The wear is entirely consistent with new stock from an open-shelf book store (such as Barnes & Noble, for instance), wherein patrons are permitted to browse open stock. There's a black marker mark (a "remainder mark") to the underside of the closed page edges indicating the book was unsold surplus. Satisfaction guaranteed. In stock, ready to ship.

PLEASE SEE IMAGES BELOW FOR SAMPLE PAGES FROM INSIDE OF BOOK.

PLEASE SEE PUBLISHER, PROFESSIONAL, AND READER REVIEWS BELOW.

PUBLISHER REVIEW:

REVIEW: No adventure tale in fiction could properly claim for its hero a fraction of the exploits, narrow escapes, fantastic luck, countries visited, friends among the unknown and the might, or the excitement that fills the life store of David Douglas Duncan. As living proof of the familiar adage about truth being stranger than fiction, Duncan has been almost everywhere and done nearly everything in the course of his enormously busy and productive career with the camera, which started in 1933 when he was still in college.

Duncan’s luck gave him pictures, his very first, of America’s most hunted killer, John Dillinger, escaping from a hotel fire in Tucson. Since that day he has been sent on every kind of photographic mission around the globe. Sometimes below the sea, sometimes airborne, for three years in uniform as a Marine combat photo-officer, and for ten years on assignments for Life Magazine. Over these same years Duncan has applied his gifts as a photographer to such wide-flung subjects as big-game hunting and fishing, archaeology, marine zoology, military intelligence, guerilla warfare, aerial combat, civil wars and relations, sports, pictorial biography and current history. At no time apparently has he rested.

As a further extension of this Herculean existence Duncan found time to write as well as to illustrate three fine and serious books. The first, “This is War”, was a chilling combat photographer’s story of U.S. Marines in Korea. Another, “The Private World of Pablo Picasso”, has been reprinted in five languages and sold well over 150,000 copies since its appearance in 1958. The third is this book, a world-exclusive color photographic reportage on “The Kremlin”, accompanied by a masterly condensation of Russian history. With great pride the editors of the New York Graphic Society present this extraordinary book to America.

PROFESSIONAL REVIEWS:

REVIEW: Duncan has written the text and documentary captions for the 108 color plates in his book, interweaving legend, anecdote and fascinating detail to create a remarkable, composite portrait of a people and land which are little known in the West today. It is an evocation of the spirit of the Russian past as the Russians themselves feel it: somber, mysterious and magnificent.

REVIEW: A striking book of the art, architecture and history of the Kremiln. Large, thick, and heavy. A glorious vision of Russia's history, as encapsulated by the jewels and architecture of the Moscow palace.

REVIEW: David Douglas Duncan, a man with the camera of an artist, the pen of a poet, and a genius for the impossible, has fashioned of these eight centuries and their relics a golden gem of a book.

REVIEW: Duncan’s third published volume was a political as well as artistic triumph, a full color, visual essay of the treasures of one of the world’s most important and most obscure art houses, the Russian Kremlin. Starting with a direct appeal to Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev, Duncan was able to gain unprecedented access to the ancient Russian fortress and, over a period of three years, to document the primary masterpieces of its collections. The result was a massive and intricately printed volume involving finely wrought, color photogravure plates that were tipped into the book itself, published by the illustrious New York Graphic Society and destined to once more garner critical acclaim and go through many editions in the years ahead.

READER REVIEWS:

REVIEW: Famous photographer's tipped in color photos and explanatory text from behind the Iron Curtain. Treasures housed in the Kremlin, from crowns and thrones to icons and gem-studded heirlooms, with historic backgrounds of each.

REVIEW: Simply a stupendous photo documentary of the Kremlin and its treasures. The full-color plates are photo-quality and are superb. Highly recommend, a real feast for the senses. Exceptionally good quality publication as well!

I always ship books Media Mail in a padded mailer. This book is shipped FOR FREE via USPS INSURED media mail (“book rate”). All domestic shipments and most international shipments will include free USPS Delivery Confirmation (you might be able to update the status of your shipment on-line at the USPS Web Site and free insurance coverage). A small percentage of international shipments may require an additional fee for tracking and/or delivery confirmation. If you are concerned about a little wear and tear to the book in transit, I would suggest a boxed shipment - it is an extra $1.00. Whether via padded mailer or box, we will give discounts for multiple purchases. International orders are welcome, but shipping costs are substantially higher.

Most international orders cost an additional $12.99 to $33.99 for an insured shipment in a heavily padded mailer, and typically includes some form of rudimentary tracking and/or delivery confirmation (though for some countries, this is only available at additional cost). There is also a discount program which can cut postage costs by 50% to 75% if you’re buying about half-a-dozen books or more (5 kilos+).  Rates and available services vary a bit from country to country.  You can email or message me for a shipping cost quote, but I assure you they are as reasonable as USPS rates allow, and if it turns out the rate is too high for your pocketbook, we will cancel the sale at your request.  ADDITIONAL PURCHASES do receive a VERY LARGE discount, typically about $5 per book (for each additional book after the first) so as to reward you for the economies of combined shipping/insurance costs.  Your purchase will ordinarily be shipped within 48 hours of payment.  We package as well as anyone in the business, with lots of protective padding and containers.

All of our shipments are sent via insured mail so as to comply with PayPal requirements. We do NOT recommend uninsured shipments, and expressly disclaim any responsibility for the loss of an uninsured shipment. Unfortunately the contents of parcels are easily “lost” or misdelivered by postal employees – even in the USA. That’s why all of our domestic shipments (and most international) shipments include a USPS delivery confirmation tag; or are trackable or traceable, and all shipments (international and domestic) are insured. We do offer U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail, Registered Mail, and Express Mail for both international and domestic shipments, as well United Parcel Service (UPS) and Federal Express (Fed-Ex). Please ask for a rate quotation. We will accept whatever payment method you are most comfortable with. If upon receipt of the item you are disappointed for any reason whatever, I offer a no questions asked return policy. Send it back, I will give you a complete refund of the purchase price (less our original shipping costs).

Most of the items I offer come from the collection of a family friend who was active in the field of Archaeology for over forty years. However many of the items also come from purchases I make in Eastern Europe, India, and from the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean/Near East) from various institutions and dealers. Though I have always had an interest in archaeology, my own academic background was in sociology and cultural anthropology. After my retirement however, I found myself drawn to archaeology as well. Aside from my own personal collection, I have made extensive and frequent additions of my own via purchases on Ebay (of course), as well as many purchases from both dealers and institutions throughout the world – but especially in the Near East and in Eastern Europe. I spend over half of my year out of the United States, and have spent much of my life either in India or Eastern Europe. In fact much of what we generate on Yahoo, Amazon and Ebay goes to support The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as some other worthy institutions in Europe connected with Anthropology and Archaeology.

I acquire some small but interesting collections overseas from time-to-time, and have as well some duplicate items within my own collection which I occasionally decide to part with. Though I have a collection of ancient coins numbering in the tens of thousands, my primary interest is in ancient jewelry. My wife also is an active participant in the "business" of antique and ancient jewelry, and is from Russia. I would be happy to provide you with a certificate/guarantee of authenticity for any item you purchase from me. There is a $2 fee for mailing under separate cover. Whenever I am overseas I have made arrangements for purchases to be shipped out via domestic mail. If I am in the field, you may have to wait for a week or two for a COA to arrive via international air mail. But you can be sure your purchase will arrive properly packaged and promptly - even if I am absent. And when I am in a remote field location with merely a notebook computer, at times I am not able to access my email for a day or two, so be patient, I will always respond to every email. Please see our "ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SALE."