Leadership

62 KROPOTKIN, Peter. The Great French Revolution 1789– 1793. London: William Heinemann, 1909 inscribed by kropotkin First edition in English, first impression, inscribed by the anarchist leader on the front free endpaper, “To Mr. and Mrs. Gabrilowitsch, with affectionate remembrance P. Kropotkin. March 1912”, the recipients being the Russian-born pianist and conductor Ossip Gabrilowitsch and his wife Clara, the daughter of Mark Twain. Ossip (1878–1936) achieved renown as a pianist across Europe, later as conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. “A gentle man, Gabrilowitsch held strong convictions on human justice, personal responsibility, and fairness, and he did not hesitate to make his feelings known . . . His 25-year marriage was the center of his life, and this happy union balanced his inclination to pessimism and depression” ( ANB ). Clara recorded that Ossip wrote to her in 1903: “I agree with you that the anarchists (not those with ideals like Prince Kropotkin’s, but the violent, bomb-throwing kind) are stupid and contemptible. They always remind me of ill-bred children that would kill their governesses, just to be free from any control. Cruel children!” (Gabrilowitsch, 1938, pp. 42–43). Clara (1874–1962) was a contralto concert singer, afterwards the inheritor of the entire Mark Twain estate as his only surviving child. She continued to work to preserve his legacy until her death. In her memoir of her father, she writes that when he called all humanity selfish – as altruistic acts are performed for self-satisfaction – she and her sister held up as a counter-example “Prince Kropotkin, who threw up his brilliant life at court with all the luxuries heart could desire, to slave for the advancement and material benefits of the under classes . . . Enumerating every detail that we could remember of his long life of sacrifice, most of which was spent in exile in England, where he also worked for the good of others, we labored to loosen one little brick of the firm structure Father had erected. But nothing was changed” (Gabrilowitsch, 1931, p. 183). Kropotkin’s history of the French Revolution was first published in French in a shortened form in 1893, and in the

present expanded form in French and English in 1909. It was Kropotkin’s longest book and most importance piece of historical writing. It is significant for his conclusions on the nature of revolutions and the possible course of a future revolution, written before either of the Russian revolutions. The translator, Nannie Florence Dryhurst, remained close to the Kropotkin family for 30 years; Kropotkin carefully supervised her translation. Octavo. Original red cloth, spine and front cover lettered in black. Very minor peripheral bumping and wear, cloth bright, contents lightly toned with a few pencilled ticks and sidelining, former owner’s pencilled notes loosely inserted. A very good copy. ¶ Clara Gabrilowitsch, My Father, Mark Twain , 1931; Clara Gabrilowitsch, My Husband , Gabrilowitsch , 1938. £3,750 [157775] 63 LANGUET, Hubert (attrib.) Vindiciae contra tyrannos: sive, de principis in Populum, Populique in Principem, legitima potestate, Stephano Iunio Bruto Celta, Auctore [pseud.]; [bound with two other works]. Edinburgh: [i.e. Basel: printed by T. Guarinus?,] 1579 anti-tyranny First edition of “one of the perennial documents of anti-tyranny” ( PMM ), here bound with two related works in an attractive and well-preserved contemporary binding. Between 1559 and 1571, the scholar Languet (1518–81) served as diplomat for the elector of Saxony at various courts, in Paris, Vienna, Prague, Frankfurt, Cologne, and the Netherlands, witnessing the machinations of power and advancing the Protestant cause. From 1573 to 1576 he was at the court of the Emperor Maximilian II. On his retirement, it is generally accepted that he wrote the present tract, either solely, or in collaboration with Philippe de Mornay. “It is an eloquent vindication of the people’s right to resist tyranny, while affirming that resistance must be based on properly constituted authority . . . some measure of its impact and

LEADERSHIP

Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter maker