after A.A. Agin's 1846 illustrations for the novel, stamped iron red and impressed factory marks, impressed model number 25

Pushkin Museum, no. 2

Oda k Radosti/Ode to Joy, pp. 34-35, cat. no. 9

excellent condition
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

In the 1860s, the Gardner Manufactory introduced a series of figures depicting the chief characters of Nikolai Gogol’s novel Dead Souls. The novel concerns Chichikov, a scoundrel who travels through the countryside attempting to purchase ‘dead souls’, serfs who had died but whose deaths had not yet been registered, to use as collateral for his financial schemes. Pliushkin, one of the wealthy landowners Chichikov meets, is a sad widower who has descended into obsessive miserliness, starving his serfs and bringing his estate to the point of decay and ruin.