[Woensel, Pieter van] Rusland beschouwd met betrekking tot I. zijne aardrijkskundige en natuurlijke ligging (…) VIII. zijne politieke belangen.

Beschrijving

Haarlem, François Bohn, 1804, 8vo., original half leather binding with titleplate and gold tooling on the spine and marbled paper on the front and back cover (kievitsmarmer), 8+467 pp., the book is in very good condition with just the usual signs of wear: some wear along the edges and the corners of the binding and only some stains. The book is dedicated to Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen (1735-1819) with a woodprint of his family crest accompanying the dedication. There are lovely woodcut head and tail pieces opening and closing each chapter. With two fold-out engravings (H. Fock del., J. E. Marcus sculp. 1804): one depicting a winter scene with an ice rink in St. Peterburg (‘Winter vermaaken der St. Petersburgers’), the other depicting a summer scene with some kind of ferris wheel (‘Zomer vermaaken der St. Petersburgers’).

The author Pieter van Woensel (1747-1808) was a student at the Leiden University. In 1771 he left for Saint Petersburg as an army physician. For an appointment at the Hospital of the Petersburg Cadets, he had Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen to thank, who this book was dedicated to. In 1804 his Rusland beschouwd (Russia considered…) was published. Van Woensel called a spade a spade and uttered his opinions on slavery and serfdom. He was critical of Russian policies carried out by Grigori Potemkin, a windbag according to Van Woensel.

Lit: Tiele 1227 Pieter van Woensel, Amurath-Effendi, Hekim-Bachi, ingeleid en geannoteerd door drs. J.J. Wesselo (Zutphen z.j.).