The Museum of the History of the Resort City of Sochi contains rare, valuable books reflecting the history, culture and nature of the city of Sochi, including one by Anatoly Apollonovich Kalinovsky entitled “Hunting in the Caucasus”. A beautiful gift edition in a leather binding, released in a limited print run of only eighty copies, is one of the rarest books on hunting.
The publication of the book was timed to coincide with the Paris Exhibition of 1900, and the book was printed in two languages at once — Russian and French. This edition of “Hunting in the Caucasus” was donated to the library of the Caucasian Mountain Club in 1909 by Aleksey Sergeyevich Yermolov and has his dedication inscription, making it quite unique. As Minister of Agriculture and State Property from 1894 to 1905, Aleksey Yermolov did a lot to study the natural and climatic factors and the development of Sochi.
The author of the book Anatoly Apollonovich Kalinovsky was an active officer in the Imperial Russian Army. At the time he wrote the book, he held the rank of junior captain. Later, Kalinovsky participated in World War I (1914–1918), became a major general, and was awarded the Order of St. George, 4th degree. In addition to the book “Hunting in the Caucasus”, he also wrote “Essay on the Caucasian Fauna and Hunting Grounds” (Tiflis, 1901). This book provided a wealth of educational information for enthusiasts of what the author referred to as “hunting sports.”
The album contains over 100 phototype illustrations on separate sheets. In the preface, Kalinovsky wrote, “The photographic views presented for the attention of enthusiasts provide a glimpse into the wonderful, incomparable beauty of the Caucasus, ranging from the river’s lower reaches, overgrown with reeds and dense underbrush, to the alpine meadows that separate the eternal snows from the wild, almost virgin forests.” The photographs primarily depict hunting scenes featuring Russian tsarist officers and grand dukes. Additionally, the book includes a poetic essay on the fauna of the Caucasus, making it particularly interesting.
