121 - [RUSSIA—THE CORONATION OF NICHOLAS II]. KRIVENKO (V. S.), ed. THE CEREMONIES OF THE HOLY CORONATION. Published with the permission of His Majesty the Emperor by the Ministry of the Imperial Household. French translation by M. G. Korsow. St. Petersburg, State Printing Office, 1899. Large folio, in the publisher’s ivory shagreen, ivory vellum spine, beveled covers illustrated in color and gold; front cover adorned with the double-headed imperial eagle within a floral design by Nicolas Samokich; gilt edges; endpapers printed in silver and gold with the cipher of Nicholas II. THE METAL MEDALLION featuring the portraits of the sovereigns, originally set in the circular recess on the front cover, IS MISSING. A few foxing spots along the edges of the covers, scuffing on the edges, one section loose, a few foxing spots within the text block, particularly on the scrollwork. FIRST FRENCH EDITION of this official album dedicated to the coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna in Moscow on May 14, 1896. Born Nikolai Aleksandrovich ROMANOV, Nicholas II was the last emperor of Russia. The book chronicles the coronations of Russian sovereigns and the ceremonies and festivities of the last imperial coronation. Abundant black-and-white and color illustrations: portraits, views, scenes from the ceremonies, and reproductions of programs and menus, featuring works by Benois, Repin, Makovsky, Serov, and Vasnetsov. Title printed in red and black, illustrated title in color, with decorative ornaments and borders. ENCLOSED: PROGRAM FOR THE GALA PERFORMANCE AT THE GRAND IMPERIAL THEATER IN MOSCOW ON MAY 17, 1896, HELD ON THE OCCASION OF THE CORONATION OF HIS MAJESTY EMPEROR NICHOLAS ALEXANDROVICH AND HER MAJESTY EMPRESS ALEXANDRA FEODOROVNA. Moscow, Printing Office of the Imperial Theaters of Moscow, A. A. Levenson Printing Company, [1896]. Booklet (12) ff. Stapled in a large in-quarto cream-colored cardboard slipcase from the publisher, featuring a polychrome imperial eagle in the center of the front cover within a cold-embossed border, endpapers decorated in blue and gold with the crowned imperial monogram, and a tricolor ribbon. Sparse foxing, occasionally noticeable but marginal. FRENCH VERSION of this LUXURIOUS PROGRAM for the gala held on the occasion of the coronation of Nicholas II and Alexandra Feodorovna, featuring the first act of the opera “A Life for the Tsar,” music by Mikhail Glinka, libretto by Baron Rosen, and the ballet “The Pearl” by Marius Petipa, with music by Riccardo Drigo. CHROMOLITHOGRAPHIC illustration, featuring full-page compositions, ornamental borders, and gold highlights, notably based on works by Andrei Ryabushkin and Elena Samokich-Sudkovskaya.