Russian Revolution, October 1917

Izvestiya tsentralnago ispolnitelnago komiteta i Petrogradskago soveta rabochikh i soldatskikh deputatov [News from the Central Committee of the deputies of the workers and soldiers], no. 215, 3 noyabrya 1917; no. 218, 7 noyabrya 1917; no. 219, 8 noyabrya 1917; no. 224, 13 noyabrya 1917; no. 225, 14 noyabrya 1917; no. 228, 14 noyabrya 1917; no. 229, 18 noyabrya 1917; no. 231, 21 noyabrya 1917; no. 232, 22 noyabrya 1917; no. 233, 23 noyabrya 1917; no. 234, 24 noyabrya 1917; no. 236, 26 noyabrya 1917; no. 238, 28 noyabrya; no. 240, 30 noyabrya; no. 241-243, 1-3 dekabrya 1917; no. 245-249, 7-12 dekabrya 1917; no 250-254, 13-17 dekabrya 1917; no 256-259, 20 dekabrya 1917-23 dekabrya 1917; [new broadsheet format] no. 263, 30 dekabrya 1917

The Continental Times, a journal for Americans living in Europe. No. 1381, 10 January 1917



Zhivoe slovo [The living word; edited by A.M. Umansky]. Nos 51 & 51, 5 & 7 iyulya 1917; Slovo [The word]. Nos 3-4, 26-29 avgusta 1917



Obshchee delo [edited by V. Burtsev], nos 10-11, 6-7 oktyabr 1917; nos 16-23, 13-21 oktyabr 1917



Delo naroda. No. 194, 30 okryabrya 1917; no. 196, 1 noyabrya 1917; no. 199, 4 noyabrya 1917



Russian Daily News. Petrograd. Nos. 739-741, 1-3 November 1917



Nash vyk [Our century]. Nos 73, 80, 81, 90, 92, 93, 14 April 1918-11 May 1918



Sobremennoe slovo. Nos 3551-3552, 13-14 June 1918



Novyi vechernii chas. No. 33, 36; 14, 18 March [1918]; no. 108, 8 July 1918

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The majority of the newspapers here are the pro-Bolshevik publication Izvestiya, which was founded in March 1917 as the paper for the Petrograd Soviet, the council that had been set up to represent the city's workers. By November it was the official newspaper of the new revolutionary government and remained so until the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

But there were dissenting voices. Zhivoe slovo, a reactionary and anti-Bolshevik newspaper in support of war against the Central Powers, published on July 5th the news that Lenin was funded by the Germans; "Lenin, Ganetsky and co. - spies". While the evidence at the time for this was slender, it later appeared that the Germans had been supplying money to the Bolsheviks via Parvus.

Vladimir Burtsev, the editor of Obshchee Delo, was a committed revolutionary with a reputation for exposting Tsarist agents provocateurs. However, he opposed the Bolsheviks and was arrested at the start of the October Revolution on the orders of Trotsky; these copies of his newspaper date from a few days before the Winter Palace was captured, on 25 October. Delo naroda was also revolutionary but anti-Bolshevik, and was closed down by the new government on 14 January 1918. Novyi vechernii chas was a Menshevik publication.

This collection was gathered by Lieutenant André Médard, who was one of four British and French officers posted to Petrograd in 1915 in order to reorganise the censorship of the telegraph service. One of the British officers, Oswald Rayner from MI6, was a friend of Yusupov at Oxford and was implicated in the assassination of Rasputin. Médard was able to send these newspapers back to France in the diplomatic bag, hence their remarkably good condition for ephemeral publications printed for the most part on poor quality paper.

Médard wrote a journal of his time in Russia, noting down events on a daily basis; his journal will be published in France later this year.

A complete listing of the newspapers is available on request or on sothebys.com.