THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
Short description:
The Russian translation of one of the most enigmatic and contradictory works of the world’s classic literature was made by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov. This edition included 86 woodcuts by Sergei Shvemberger, the fruits of seven years of work by the artist.
Artists:
Edition:
30 copies numbered and signed by the publisher and the artist. Copy № 1 is in the collection of the State Hermitage.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
-
Year of publication:2016
-
Number of pages:270
-
Dimensions:390 × 310 mm
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Paper:Vélin d’Arches crème (France), 250 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov, a grandson of Nicholas I, President of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, poet, translator and dramatist used the initials K.R. as a pen-name.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication — Piotr Suspitsyn
Creator of the illustrations — Sergei Shvemberger
Design of the cover — Mikhail Kopylkov
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Hand typesetting and printing of the text and xylographs — Sergei Yashin
Production of glass elements for the cover — Arkady Natarevich Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication — Piotr Suspitsyn
Creator of the illustrations — Sergei Shvemberger
Design of the cover — Mikhail Kopylkov
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Hand typesetting and printing of the text and xylographs — Sergei Yashin
Engraving on the glass — Boris Kachalov
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
K.R. considered the translation of Hamlet his chief literary endeavour. He worked on it for more than eight years. Contemporaries rated his contribution to the formation of a Russian school of translating very highly, noting the “precision”, “subtlety” and “remarkable conscientiousness” of his rendering.
The book’s text was typeset by hand in the Obyknovennaya novaya typeface and printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
The book’s text was typeset by hand in the Obyknovennaya novaya typeface and printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
The edition contains 86 illustrations created by the artist Sergei Shvemberger in the xylography or wood engraving technique (working on the end-grain of a hardwood block).
This is an unprecedented achievement, considering the incredible difficulty of the technique. The artist laboured on illustrations for the book over a period of seven years. The timber used for the blocks was boxwood – a very hard, dense and expensive variety.
The xylographs were printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
This is an unprecedented achievement, considering the incredible difficulty of the technique. The artist laboured on illustrations for the book over a period of seven years. The timber used for the blocks was boxwood – a very hard, dense and expensive variety.
The xylographs were printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
The cover was made of grey-brown leather with a matte finish with a blood-red glass inset on the front.
The book has a storage case decorated with fabric.
The book has a storage case decorated with fabric.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
About this edition
About this edition:
-
Year of publication:2016
-
Number of pages:270
-
Dimensions:390 × 310 mm
-
Paper:Vélin d’Arches crème (France), 250 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov, a grandson of Nicholas I, President of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences, poet, translator and dramatist used the initials K.R. as a pen-name.
Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication — Piotr Suspitsyn
Creator of the illustrations — Sergei Shvemberger
Design of the cover — Mikhail Kopylkov
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Hand typesetting and printing of the text and xylographs — Sergei Yashin
Production of glass elements for the cover — Arkady Natarevich Participants in the work on this publication:
Idea for the publication — Piotr Suspitsyn
Creator of the illustrations — Sergei Shvemberger
Design of the cover — Mikhail Kopylkov
Layout — Yevgeny Bolshakov
Hand typesetting and printing of the text and xylographs — Sergei Yashin
Engraving on the glass — Boris Kachalov
Binding work — Andrei Degtev, Andrei Kulikov
Proof-reading — Natalia Nesterova
Text
K.R. considered the translation of Hamlet his chief literary endeavour. He worked on it for more than eight years. Contemporaries rated his contribution to the formation of a Russian school of translating very highly, noting the “precision”, “subtlety” and “remarkable conscientiousness” of his rendering.
The book’s text was typeset by hand in the Obyknovennaya novaya typeface and printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
The book’s text was typeset by hand in the Obyknovennaya novaya typeface and printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
Illustrations
The edition contains 86 illustrations created by the artist Sergei Shvemberger in the xylography or wood engraving technique (working on the end-grain of a hardwood block).
This is an unprecedented achievement, considering the incredible difficulty of the technique. The artist laboured on illustrations for the book over a period of seven years. The timber used for the blocks was boxwood – a very hard, dense and expensive variety.
The xylographs were printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
This is an unprecedented achievement, considering the incredible difficulty of the technique. The artist laboured on illustrations for the book over a period of seven years. The timber used for the blocks was boxwood – a very hard, dense and expensive variety.
The xylographs were printed on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
Binding
The cover was made of grey-brown leather with a matte finish with a blood-red glass inset on the front.
The book has a storage case decorated with fabric.
The book has a storage case decorated with fabric.
William Shakespeare
THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
The Russian translation of one of the most enigmatic and contradictory works of the world’s classic literature made by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov
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