Extremely rare original Russian book 'Interpretation of the Apocalypses' printed in Moscow in 1913. The text is old Slavonic language still practiced in the Russian Orthodox Church and includes a text of Revelation to John or Apocalypse of John and its interpretation by Saint Andrew of Kesary and other holy brothers. The book was first produced in Kiev at the Kievo Pechorskaya Lavra in 1625. This is a first mass printed edition of the book that uses the same text of interpretation and title letters and illustrations from the illuminated manuscript.

There are 73 full page chromolithographs, ornate title letters and page headers at the beginning of each chapter. The size of the book is 38x26cm (15.2"x10.4"); the illustration sizes are 27x17cm (10.8"x6.8"). Total number of pages: 646; 3 are torn, 3 have missing parts.

The book is in need of some TLC and restoration: the binding is missing and the introduction and index are missing some pages. As far as I can tell, all the other parts are full. The pages are numbered in old Slavonic letters and I do not know how they convert into numbers. In general the contents are clean and the pictures are crisp and still retain the original striking colour. There is some soiling (mostly on the corners of the pages) and minor foxing throughout the book; the corners of the pages at the beginning and at the end of the book are bumped. Many religious books were destroyed in the USSR as the Communist Party did not approve of the church. In the Soviet propaganda religion was called opium for the masses.

The illustrations are truly amazing; the colours are bright and bold. There are several interesting depictions, for example: Death is portrayed holding a gun as well as scythe and bow and arrows; The beasts have several horns on their heads and resemble deer. Russia, 1913, size 38x26cm