COUNT NIKOLAI TOLSTOY - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 80095

COUNT NIKOLAI TOLSTOY
Small 4¼x4¼ b/w photo of author and historian Count Nikolai Tolstoy in a suit and tie and with his hands in his pockets, signed with his "Best wishes"
Photograph signed "Best wishes from/Nikolai Tolstoy-Miloslavsky". Blue ink notations in unknown hand in top left corner and blue ink notations in unknown hand and black ink stamps and on verso. B/w, 4¼x4¼ overall, 4x4 image, one surface. Author and historian Tolstoy, born in 1935, is the head of the senior branch of Russia's ancient Tolstoy family, as well as a distant cousin of author Leo Tolstoy. His father, Count Dimitri Tolstoy, fled from Russia to England in 1920. Tolstoy has written about the history of Russia and the Soviet Union, particularly during World War II and its aftermath. Two of his most controversial books - Victims of Malta (1977) and The Minister and The Massacres (1986) - alleged that British officials had handed over Russian Cossacks to Joseph Stalin at the end of World War II, in violation of the Geneva Conventions. Toby Low, Lord Aldington successfully sued him and pamphleteer Nigel Watts for libel in 1989 over the allegations and forced them to pay a then-record 1.5 million pounds in damages. Tolstoy has also written about Celtic history and the Arthurian myth. His books on this subject include The Quest for Merlin (1985) and The Coming of the King (1988). He's also written a biography of his stepfather and fellow author Patrick O'Brian - Patrick O'Brian: The Making of the Novelist. As a Russian count he is, probably not surprisingly, Chancellor of the International Monarchist League. A United Kingdom Independence Party candidate for Parliament since 1996, Tolstoy is, as of this biography, a candidate for the Witney seat in Parliament. Lightly toned, cracked, creased and bowed. Signature has low contrast in places but is legible. Tack hole in top right corner. Light scratches and impressions on image (does not show head-on). Paper loss and adhesive residue on verso (no show-through). Otherwise in fine condition.