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"First book: WESTERN BARBARY: ITS WILD TRIBES AND SAVAGE ANIMALS. BY JOHN H.DRUMMOND HAY, Esq. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBERMARLE STREET. 1844" The journey, which forms the groundwork of this small volume, was undertaken for the purpose of procuring for Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, a barb of the purest blood from some of the breeders of horses in the region around Laraiche.V leaves, 106 pages. Second book: Rigby, Elizabeth. Letters From the Baltic. London: John Murray, 1844. (160 pages) Elizabeth Rigby, born in England in the year 1809. As a single woman, she traveled from London to Estonia via Norway, Denmark and Russia in 1838. The century and a half after the old "good Swedish" time, following the Great Northern War, which ended with the Peace of Uusikaupunki, was a relatively static period in Estonian history with few momentous events. This was the time of the crystallisation of the class system and the culmination of serfdom, when various socio-political and cultural undercurrents were also active, preparing the ground for the emergence of industrial society and the national-democratic movement in the second half of the 19th century. In 1844 Rigby published her collection of letters, titled Letters from the Baltic. Rigby notes that the purpose of her travels and her letters are an attempt at "the philosophy of this country" While in Estonia, she stays with a sister who is married to a Baltic German. Rigby describes in great detail the Baltic German nobility, their wealthy habits, dissipated lifestyle and willingness not to study local language and habits. Rigby also writes the Estonian nobility need to match their education more with their land for they can do more "to promote the welfare of his little, fertile, favoured province, than the Russian government has at present inclination to thwart it." In her letters from the Baltic Rigby describes realistically the situation of local Estonian peasants. Unfortunately, she tries convincing the reader that the peasant conditions are those of "free people" and she praises the provinces of Estonia, Livonia, and Courland for being amongst the first to enfranchise their serfs. It seams that Rigby does not know or do not want to know the fact that these same regions were forced to free serfs under Swedish rule, only to have it reinstated when the Russians took power in the early 1700 s. (HV 2006)Rigby, Elizabeth. Letters From the Baltic. London: John Murray, 1844. (160 pages) Elizabeth Rigby, born in Norwich, England in the year 1809, began painting and publishing her written articles in her early 20 s. As a single woman, she traveled from London to Estonia via Denmark and Russia in 1838… quite remarkable for a woman of her time. In 1844 she published her collection of letters, titled Letters from the Baltic. In 1846 she published another book on the region titled, Livonian Tales. She married painter Charles Eastlake in 1849 and moved to London where she lived until her death in 1893. Elizabeth Rigby s letters are full of beautiful, detailed descriptions of life in the Baltic States during the 19th Century. Rigby travels to Estonia after first taking a steam ship from London to St Petersburg via Copenhagen and Cronstadt (Kronstadt, Russia). She spends the summer in St Petersburg and then travels by sledge with a Russian man-servant to Reval (Tallinn), Estonia. While in Estonia, she stays with a sister who is married to a Baltic German. She quickly integrates herself into the Estonian daily life. Throughout her letters, she describes in great detail the Estonians; which include the Baltic German nobility and the native Estonian maids and peasants. She contrasts this life by describing life in high society Russia at the time. Rigby notes that the purpose of her travels and her letters are an attempt at "the philosophy of this country" (Page 132). Shortly after her arrival into Reval, the family leaves the city and winters at their Country Estate. While there, she spends the wint". Seller Inventory # 3168
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