Montenegro, Kingdom. Album Celebrating The Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty And Prince Nikola I Of Montenegro Before His Accession To The Throne In 1910

Hardcover, with a white pebbled exterior, the front cover illustrating the Montenegro coat-of-arms bearing a two-headed spread-winged eagle surmounted by the golden Royal crown, a scepter in its right talon and a globus cruciger (orb and cross) in the left talon, the eagle's chest displaying a shield with a golden lion passant, the lion on a green field with a blue background, the arms itself centred on a draped background and surmounted by a crown, with the Serbian text in gold-coloured ink "ВЛАДАЛАЧКА КУЋА ПЕТРОВИЋ - ЊЕГОШ" (Ruling House Petrović-Njegoš) below. The inside front and back covers, along with the facing endpapers on each bear the Royal monogram of Prince Nikola I surrounded by six Montenegro coat-of-arms. Nikola I (born October 7, 1841, died March 1, 1921) was Prince of the Principality of Montenegro for fifty years, from August 13, 1860 to August 28, 1910, before becoming King Nikola I of the Kingdom of Montenegro on August 28, 1910, until he was deposed by the Podgorica Assembly on November 26, 1918, having been previously in exile as of January 15, 1916, due to the Montenegrin Campaign. The cover page illustrates the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty coat-of arms, stating the album is dedicated to the life of Nikola I, along with his family, sons and grandchildren, stating that the album was published in Cetinje, Montenegro in 1910. This is followed by seven pages describing the history of the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty, the cover page and the seven pages designed with ornate lacing. The remaining thirty-five pages which is the bulk of the album, has photos of various members of the Petrović-Njegoš Dynasty, with the text in Serbian below each describing who is in the photo and the relationship to Nikola I. The album contains forty off-white card panels, the cover page printed in black and red inks and printed on one side, the next four panels printed in black ink and printed on both sides, the concluding thirty-five pages with photographs and the accompanying text in Serbian on one side only (the right-hand page), the photos in black ink with a beige-coloured tint, the text below the photos in black ink, the inside front and back covers along with the two endpapers with the arms and monograms printed in a light black tint with a light beige background on white paper. The album measures 255 in width x 310 mm in height x 16 mm in depth, the exterior and interior covers exhibiting soiling, with tearing present on the spine at the top, along with separation at the seams between the inside covers and the endpapers, the beige-coloured tinted backgrounds on the photos having offset onto the facing page in all cases, however, the family photos throughout the album are unaffected and remain crisp and in terrific condition. Near very fine.

Footnote: The Petrović-Njegoš is a Dynasty that was established by the Serbian family that ruled Montenegro from 1697 to 1916. Montenegro was ruled from its inception by vladikas (prince-bishops) since 1516, who had a dual temporal and spiritual role. In 1697, the office was made hereditary in the Petrović-Njegoš family. However, since Orthodox bishops are required to be celibate, the crown passed from uncle to nephew. In 1852, Prince-Bishop Danilo II opted to marry and to secularize Montenegro, becoming Prince Danilo I. His successor, Nikola I, raised Montenegro to a kingdom in 1910. In 1916, King Nikola I was ousted by the invasion and occupation of his country by Austria-Hungary. He was formally deposed by the Podgorica Assembly in 1918 and the country joined the Kingdom of Serbia which later became the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. A period of eighty years of control from Belgrade followed, during which time King Nikola I died in exile in France in 1921, followed shortly afterwards by the surprise abdication of his son and heir, Danilo III, the same year. The latter's nephew, Michael Petrović-Njegoš, inherited the titles of his predecessors whilst in exile in France, and he survived arrest and internment by order of Adolf Hitler for refusing to head up a puppet Montenegrin state aligned to the Axis Powers. Later, he served the SFR Yugoslavia as Head of Protocol. He was succeeded by his son Nicholas Petrović-Njegoš in 1986. Nicholas returned to Montenegro to support the Montenegrin independence movement that went on to achieve full sovereignty in the 2006 referendum. In 2011, Montenegro recognized an official role for the Royal House of Petrović-Njegoš in Montenegro: to promote Montenegrin identity, culture and traditions through cultural, humanitarian and other non-political activities, which has been interpreted as a "creeping restoration" of the monarchy. The present head of the house is Nicholas, Crown Prince of Montenegro.