Plusquamperfectum. Poviest' proshedshikh liet [A novella about bygone times]

[Berlin, July 1927]. Quarto. Original blind wrappers; 41 pp. of reproduced typescript to rectos and versos. Occasional corrections in red pencil. About very good. Apparently unrecorded manuscript of a novella by this little known Russian writer and dramaturg (1875-after 1935). Having graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, Popello-Davydov founded the arts club ALATR, which he led until after the October Revolution along with L. L. Sabaneev. He was also a member of various literary circles and published in various theatre-related periodicals. He later emigrated, settling first in Paris and, from 1927 on, in Berlin, where he was a member of various artistic circles as well. In 1924, he had published his memoirs about Moscow theatre life in the Paris émigré paper Poslednie novosti. While in Berlin he also published a work on Russian theatre (Osnovy russkogo teatra). The present manuscript seems to have been reproduced in a small print run, possibly in preparation for publication. We cannot trace any other copies or any print appearance of the text under this title. Provenance: stock of the defunct bookshop of Szwede Slavic Books in Palo Alto, California. (Inventory #: 50588)