Keepers of events
понедельник 6 мая 2024, 13:42
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In the University Library there are not only richly decorated books with centuries-old history, but also seemingly unsightly copies that "keep silent" about their owners and "speak" about the period of their creation — the Great Patriotic War
The Department of Rare Books of the University Library holds 62 books published in 1941 1945, including academic works, classic fiction, journalism, and collections of small art forms. Their main theme was the theme of the Motherland. The need for books was keenly felt at the front, on the home front and in the occupied territory. The appearance of books became minimalistic: many editions came out with soft covers, small format (about 15-20 cm) and volume – which was convenient for soldiers, because they took up little space, they could be stowed in a pocket, in a duffel bag. Another distinctive feature of these books is grey paper, cheap, easy to produce (today such paper becomes a problem for conservators: it oxidizes (yellowing) and becomes very brittle). The design was mainly black and white printing, sometimes red colour was added. Some books were published in hundreds of thousands of copies, but even these, which have survived to this day, are bibliographic rarities. Among the copies kept in the Department of Rare Books, the collection "The Front is Laughing" (1945) stands out: it includes works created directly on the battlefield, in trenches and dugouts, written in pencil in notebooks. The anecdotes, feuilletons, fables and caricatures presented in it testify to the fact that laughter was adopted in the Red Army. Another collection from the Department of Rare Books – "Front Folklore" (1944) – was compiled by researcher Vera Krupyanskaya from materials collected in military units and hospitals on a special assignment of the Literary Museum.
Despite the relative proximity of the events to our days, not all of the book creators can be found biographical information. Perhaps all of them are waiting for a researcher. These books are rarely exhibited, both because of their dull appearance and poor preservation, and yet we invite you to discover them during the department's opening hours: Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00, Saturday from 09:00 to 16:00.
Author: Olga Kravchenko Translator: Angelina Cherenkova |
