976 - NESMELOV A. (1889-1945)

NESMELOV A. (1889-1945) Krovavyy otblesk: stikhi [Blood-Red Reflection: Poems]. Harbin: [s.n.], 1928. 32 pp.; 18 x 13 cm. In the publisher’s typographic wrapper. In very good condition. Minor rubbing and soiling to the wrapper, creasing to the edges. Arseny Nesmelov (pseudonym of Arseny Ivanovich Mitropolsky; 1889-1945) was a Russian poet and an officer in the Imperial and later Kolchak’s army. In 1924 he fled the USSR across the Chinese border and settled in Harbin, Manchuria, where for more than two decades he was rightly regarded as ‘the best Russian poet in China’. He corresponded with Marina Tsvetaeva, who wished to edit his poem ‘Across the Ocean’. In August 1945, when Soviet troops entered Harbin, he was arrested and taken to the USSR, where he died almost immediately of a cerebral haemorrhage in the transit prison at Grodekovo station. He left vivid memoirs of the literary life of Vladivostok in the early 1920s, still not fully published, and was the author of more than a dozen books of poetry published in Moscow, Vladivostok, Harbin and Shanghai. Of Nesmelov’s early collection ‘Ledges’ (1924), Boris Pasternak wrote briefly in a letter to his wife: ‘Good poems’. Upon the buyer’s request, we are pleased to provide a general condition report for the Lot described above. However, as we are not professional conservators or restorers, we strongly advise prospective buyers to conduct their own inspection or consult a specialist or restorer of their choice for a comprehensive professional assessment. Any condition descriptions provided in the catalogue or through any correspondence are for guidance only and should not be considered a substitute for a firsthand evaluation. NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD ‘AS IS’ IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE PUBLISHED IN THE CATALOGUE.