The April 1, 1915 letter handwritten in Russian on the Grand Duke’s embossed stationery & addressed to a certain Pavel Gavrilovich, the text concerning the Grand Duke’s work on the first translation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” into Russian & the English translation of his (later controversial) play “King of the Jews.” Accompanied by an English translation of the text printed on cream paper & laid down on card bordered in forest green & gold. The paper folded over, the back with four spots where it had been attached to the page of an album. Dimensions (unfolded): 3 7/8 in. h x 6 1/8 in. h

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was unique among the Imperial family for having achieved both distinguished military & literary careers. He served in both the Imperial Army & Navy & on Imperial committees overseeing military academies. He & his wife, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Mavrikievna (born Princess Elisabeth of Saxe-Altenburg, 1858-1927), served as patrons of numerous artistic, literary, & scientific organizations, including the Imperial Archaeological Society, the Imperial Russian Musical Society, the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences, including the photographic section, Pushkin House, & Moscow’s Polytechnic Museum. The couple sponsored several important exhibitions in St. Petersburg & Moscow around the turn of the century. Konstantin is best known as one of the last members of the Imperial family to have lived at Pavlovsk Palace & for writing poetry & plays under the pseudonym KR (for “Konstantin Romanov”), as well as his translations, including the first translation of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” into Russian.