GORGEOUS RUSSIAN GRANT OF NOBILITY SIGNED BY CZAR NICHOLAS I
NICHOLAS I. A GRANT OF NOBILITY AND ARMS [GRAMOTA] in favor of Count Yakim Vasilievich Mashlykin (1774-?), creating him Count of the Russian Empire with his own arms, signed in Cyrillic ‘Nicholas’ and dated 1 May 1838. Illuminated manuscript on vellum, in Russian, 8 pages, 2° (480 x 335 mm.), the first page with illuminated armorial and foliate borders surmounted by the crowned double-headed eagle, with scroll decoration at foot, the text in gold with the name of Emperor Nicholas I (r. 1825-1855) in gold lettering, the border with coats of arms of towns, principalities and provinces, surmounted by the Imperial double-headed eagle, other pages with crowned imperial cypher within laurel wreath at head, the fifth page enclosing an illuminated coat-of-arms in gold and colours, the final page with the signature of Czar Nicholas I and date, interleaved with oyster moiré silk, bound in the full contemporary red morocco folder, with gold-thread cord, the cover applied with tooled gilt and blond panels.