Prince Nikita Alexandrovich: 1917 Diaries, Parts 1 & 2 In two volumes, one an English "Walker's Canvas Series No. 4" blank book, the cover inscribed in Prince Nikita's own hand "1917 / Vol I / the year 1917", the flyleaf inscribed in Russian "NA 1917 / Ai-Todor / Petrograd / Ai Todor" and with daily entries from 1 January (OS, 1/14 NS) 1917 to 22 September (OS, 5 October NS), together with a second volume, in a French "Reliure Spirale" notebook, the cover inscribed "Papa's Diary /1917 / Vol II / Crimea / Ai-Todor, and containing daily entries from 24 September (OS, 7 October NS) until 31 December (OS, 13 January NS), 1917. PROVENANCE: Prince Nikita Alexandrovich; Prince Alexander Nikitich Romanoff; Princess Maria Romanoff. The offered lot is an unpublished diary in two volumes by Prince Nikita Alexandrovich beginning on January 1, 1917 (OS) and ending December 31, 1917 (OS). The diary is a day-by-day account of the last year of the Empire, from the end of Christmas spent in Crimea, the return to Petrograd (as St. Petersburg was known after 1914) and the sudden upheavals of the February Revolution. The young Prince and his mother Grand Duchess Xenia were forced to leave the capital and head back to the Crimea for safety, where they lived in relative calm until the October Revolution, also detailed in these pages. The family ended up under house arrest with other members of the Imperial Family. The pages are filled with observations of the last days of Imperial Russia, and the prince notes many events which are not yet known to the public, including details of the circumstances of their departure from Petrograd: "... we are taking very few things, the rest we are hiding around in pantries and wardrobes. Probably will go to Crimea tomorrow, but everything will be decided tomorrow..." Prince Nikita notes that his family was delayed in their departure as Grand Duchess Xenia hoped that she would be able to see her brother: "May God grant... Mama, she keeps hesitating, keeps hoping that they will permit her to see U[ncle] Niki and A[unt] Alix at Tsarskoe, but they don't give permission, the swine, bastards." Prince Nikita assessed the historic changes from his own vantage as a naval cadet, paying particular attention to the fates of his colleagues and mentors in the navy, many of whom were hurt in the revolution. He wrote on 23 March (5 April): "I walked around the yard, waiting for the burial of the Guard crew and workers. I didn't see anyone returning from the funeral of the Guard crew and the workers, the rabble played music - the Marseillaise - and sang it too, it was an eerie and disgusting feeling. There were a lot of processions around the city from all over the town, and great order." Unable to leave their residence on the Moika Canal, Nikita and his family relied on outsiders for information; "Yashka (...) came to see me, told many interesting things and how the Navy Corps (...) from the crowd, that there were [people] killed and wounded, and with what difficulty they ... went home. The crowd entered the building and broke and destroyed a lot of things. Oh, how difficult it all is! But the Corps did well. Hurrah! They're still the loyal sons to the Sovereign and the Fatherland. ...." The prince also includes details of the departure through the shattered city of Petrograd: "We rode through all that in a cab, the streets are awful, we were thrown around and shaken terribly [falling] into potholes.." These volumes are executed in two different hands: that of Prince Nikita, and that of his son Alexander Nikitich. It appears that Alexander may have copied out the second half of the diaries from an original notebook, now perhaps lost. The second section of the diary is, however, written in the same voice as the earlier section, so presumably it is verbatim transcription. The diaries are a rare and unseen primary source of the events of 1917 from the perspective of a seventeen-year-old naval cadet, whose life was to change forever. New and unpublished material from this period is incredibly rare. Heritage Auctions thanks Helen Azar and George Hawkins for their assistance with the transcription and translations of excerpts from this lot. Estate of Princess Maria Romanoff HID03101062020 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved

Heritage Auctions strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Heritage regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact, and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Heritage. All lots offered are sold "AS IS"