“This small gift is dedicated to...” Dedicatory inscriptions of Tambov bibliophiles on the civil press books of the 18th century
https://doi.org/10.20310/2587-6953-2021-7-25-137-150
Abstract
The tradition of book-making is closely connected with the formation and development of private library collections in Russia in the 18th century, which began its development with representatives of the noble class as the main book-holders who had the opportunity to purchase fairly expensive publications. Subsequently, the transfer of books began to spread among the middle strata, who viewed book-making primarily as a kind of mark for summing up a certain stage in their life – training, service, etc. Often on such gifts, short inscriptions (inscripts) were applied, containing personal information of a different nature. This work is dedicated to the inscriptions on the civil press books of the 18th century from the collections of Tambov second-hand booksellers. We prove that a careful reading of the dedicatory inscriptions allows us to trace the motives of donation, the nature of the relationship between second-hand booksellers and the history of their collections. Thanks to the conducted work, we create new and supplement the existing meetings of book owners. We show the connections of individuals with institutions revealed through donation inscriptions. We trace the individual trajectories of individual editions, which can be identified through the presence of the records of several donors who consecutively donated books. Consideration of the scripts allows us to present the book as a translator of the personality of its owner and a reflection of historical events.
Supporting agencies: The study was funded by grant of Russian Foundation for Basic Research no. 19-09-00484.
About the Authors
R. M. Zhitin
Derzhavin Tambov State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Ruslan M. Zhitin, Candidate of History, Research Worker of Center for Fractal Modeling of Social and Political Processes
33 Internatsionalnaya St., Tambov 392000
A. G. Topilsky
Derzhavin Tambov State University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Aleksey G. Topilsky, Candidate of History, Senior Lecturer of General and Russian History Department
33 Internatsionalnaya St., Tambov 392000
References
1. Yatsunok E.I. Vstupitel’naya stat’ya [Introductory article]. Avtografy poetov Serebryanogo veka: Darstvennyye nadpisi na knigakh [Autographs of the Silver Age Poets: Dedicatory Inscriptions on Books]. Moscow, 1995, pp. 3-18. (In Russian).
2. Ozerov L. Nadpis’ na knige [Inscription on the book]. Vstrechi s knigoy [Meetings with the Book]. Moscow, 1974, pp. 228-242. (In Russian).
3. Bek T. Pisatel’skiy avtograf na knige [Writer’s autograph on the book]. Voprosy literatury [Literature Issues], 1979, no. 7, pp. 302-306. (In Russian).
4. Yanushkevich A.S. Inskript v tvorcheskoy sisteme V.A. Zhukovskogo i v knigakh iz ego biblioteki [Inscription in V.A. Zhukovskys creative system and beyond it in the books of his library]. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Filologiya – Tomsk State University Journal of Philology, 2011, no. 1 (13), pp. 102-120. (In Russian).
5. Vostrikov A.V. Inskripty iz biblioteki N.K. Mikhaylovskogo [Inscriptions from Nikolai Mikhailovsky’s library]. Kul’tura i tekst – Culture and Text, 2015, no. 4 (22), pp. 133-153. (In Russian).
6. Tikhonenkova T.V. Inskripty literatorov v fonde Otdela redkikh knig Tul’skoy oblastnoy biblioteki [Inscripts of writers in the fund of the Department of rare books of the Tula regional library]. Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye [New Literary Review], 2005, no. 1 (71), pp. 54-64. (In Russian).
7. Gorokhova O.V. Inskripty georgiyevskikh kavalerov v fondakh Kostromskoy universal’noy nauchnoy biblioteki [The books of the St. George’s order cavaliers in Kostroma Universal Research Library]. Vestnik Voyennogo universiteta [Bulletin of the Military University], 2010, no. 4 (24), pp. 82-87. (In Russian).
8. Moreva O.V., Shumkova I.A. Inskripty literatorov i uchenykh-gumanitariyev v fonde otdela redkikh knig Sverdlovskoy oblastnoy biblioteki im. V.G. Belinskogo [Inscripts of writers and scientists-humanitarians in the fund of the department of rare books of the Sverdlovsk regional library named after V.G. Belinsky]. Novoye literaturnoye obozreniye [New Literary Review], 2017, no. 6 (148), pp. 374-385. (In Russian).
9. Patrina L.N., Zhitin R.M. Knizhnyye sobraniya dvoryanskikh bibliotek Tambovskoy gubernii kontsa XVIII – nachala XX veka [Book collections of noble libraries of Tambov Governorate of the late 18th – early 20th century. The problem of reconstruction and analysis of book heritage]. Materialy Mezhdunarodnoy nauchno-prakticheskoy konferentsii «Rumyantsevskiye chteniya – 2019» [Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Rumyantsev Readings – 2019”]. Moscow, 2019, pp. 277-280. (In Russian).
10. Gukovskiy G.A. Russkaya literatura XVIII veka [Russian Literature of the 18th Century]. Moscow, Aspekt Press Publ., 1999, 453 p. (In Russian).
11. Lasunskiy O.G. «Na pamyat’ i v znak uvazheniya…»: o kul’ture knigodareniya [“In memory and as a sign of respect...”: on the culture of bookmaking]. Bibliofily Rossii [Bibliophiles of Russia]. Moscow, 2005, vol. 2, pp. 53-62. (In Russian).
12. Nikitenko A.V. Moya povest’ o samom sebe i o tom, «chemu svidetel’ v zhizni byl»: zapiski i dnevnik (1804–1877 gg.): v 2 t. [A Story about myself and about “What I Witnessed in my Life”. Notes and Diary (1804–1877): in 2 vols.]. St. Petersburg, M.V. Pirozhkov Publ., 1904–1905, vol. 1: Notes, 1804–1824, 632 p. (In Russian).
Review
For citations:
Zhitin R.M., Topilsky A.G. “This small gift is dedicated to...” Dedicatory inscriptions of Tambov bibliophiles on the civil press books of the 18th century. Neophilology. 2021;7(25):137-150. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.20310/2587-6953-2021-7-25-137-150
Views:
39
Email this article 