Pair of Nureyev auction books from Christie’s. – printed by White Bros LTD. London. Contains a printed itinerary of items sold and price of each item. Christie’s New York auction Nureyev - Thursday, January 12 and Friday January 13, 1995. Christie’s London auction Nureyev part 2 - Monday 20 and Tuesday, 21 November 1995. Auction consisted of old master paintings, European furniture and works of art, prints, musical instruments, textiles, ballet costumes and memorabilia from the collection of Rudolf Nureyev. Auction Catalogues in immaculate condition stored in original red pictorial box with gilt man’s head motif and titles to spine, front and back. Storage box has some water marks and a few stains. Catalogues have a Hardcover also with publisher’s red pictorial cloth with gilt man’s head motif and titles to spine, front and back boards. Dust jackets present. Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev 17 March 1938 – 6 January 1993 was a Soviet ballet and contemporary dancer and choreographer. Named Lord of the Dance, Nureyev is widely regarded as the greatest male ballet dancer of his generation. Nureyev was born on a Trans-Siberian train near Irkutsk, Siberia, Soviet Union to a Tatar Muslim family. Nureyev began his early career with the Mariinsky Ballet in St. Petersburg. He defected from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961, despite KGB efforts to stop him. This was the first defection of a Soviet artist during the Cold War and it created an international sensation. Nureyev went on to dance with The Royal Ballet in London and from 1983 to 1989 served as director of the Paris Opera Ballet. In addition to his technical prowess, Rudolf Nureyev was an accomplished choreographer serving as the chief choreographer of the Paris Opera Ballet. He produced his own interpretations of numerous classical works, including Swan Lake, Giselle, and La Bayadère.