Verne Julius, The floating city. 1894 in Russian / Varsaviana

Julius Verne
The floating city.
2nd edition, St. Petersburg 1894
Russian language.
Hardcover, cloth binding with decorative embossing, gilt. Pages 143, 26 illustrations. Slightly rubbed cover corners, soiling mentioned below, light crease and ownership stamp on title page. Good condition.

That the book is a rarity on the antiquarian market is another matter. More interesting is its connection to old Warsaw. The piece was a school prize. The beautifully calligraphed text on the pre-title page states that the student Antonina R. successfully graduated from the third class of Izabella Smolikowska's Private Pence for Girls in the school year 1893/94. The book, intended as a prize, has a specially embossed (Russian) "prize" inscription on the back cover, and came from the Knizny Tea Warehouse of Russian merchant V.M. Istomin in Warsaw - there is a perfectly preserved sticker on the back of the front cover. It has been stored with care. There was an unfortunate accident, as there is rust staining on a few pages and bounce marks on adjacent pages, but from page 33 the block is without signs of use.
The book is consistent, beautifully preserved in its entirety, the coverstickers - like all the decorations of the binding - golden.