Collection "Museum of Rare Books"
The book is the alpha and omega of all knowledge, the beginning of the beginnings of every sciences
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The Rare Book Museum opened on September 1, 2011. The creation of such a museum had been planned for a long time: work was done to identify unique editions, methodological documents were created on working with old and most valuable books, and the issue of which books should be considered museum exhibits was resolved. |
The next stage was the choice of premises, renovation, and the development of an interior design that reflected the spirit of the museum. The colossal work of creating the museum took shape - the museum opened its doors to visitors.
No visitor leaves the museum indifferent: the book treasures collected within the walls of the museum inspire admiration, amazement, a desire to create something similar, and, most importantly, awaken the need to read…
ll of humanity's life successively settled in books: tribes, people, states disappeared, but the book remained
About the Museum's CollectionA creative approach was applied in forming this collection, since there is no simple formula for determining the rarity of a book. To date, representatives of the library and antique book-selling communities do not have a unified opinion on which books are considered rare. A chronological approach is conditionally applicable. Currently, the collection of the Rare Book Museum includes about 3,000 copies. The Oldest Exhibits of the MuseumThe most valuable are books published before 1830. The museum's collection includes about 20 copies of books published before 1830. This chronological period includes a two-volume lifetime edition of the playwright George Colman in English, from the 18th century. Of particular interest is the Leipzig edition in Latin and French from 1739 - a textbook on practical philosophy by Israel C. Gottlieb, a German philosopher, and theologian of the 18th century. |
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In the section of medical literature, there is an 18th-century book on surgery in Latin. For historians of science, this edition is undoubtedly of great interest. The same chronological period includes a number of books on history, such as "The History of the Portuguese Revolution". In the section of fiction, there is a scarce edition of A.S. Pushkin's novella "The Robber Brothers," published 10 years before the poet's death in 1827.
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The oldest museum exhibit dates back to 1670. It is a book in German by Olfert Dapper about Africa with detailed maps of the area, printed during the author's lifetime. The next chronological period includes rare books until 1917, the most widely represented period in the museum. Currently, most professional bibliophiles agree that books published before 1950 can also be considered rare. The collection of the Rare Book Museum includes limited editions (less than 5,000 copies), non-standard editions (miniature), first editions, lifetime editions, handwritten books, and more. Among the interesting editions, attention should be paid to the lifetime edition in French of the writer George Sand. In reference literature, her work "Countess Rudolstadt" is dated 1843-44. Our collection includes the fifth volume of her works, containing the novel "Countess Rudolstadt". This volume was published in 1844 in Paris. |
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About the Classification of the Collection
The classification of the museum's collection is based on subject classification. Various fields of knowledge are represented here: fiction, literary studies, linguistics, art, engineering, geography, regional studies, philosophy, economics, pedagogy, religion, law, history, physics...
The museum also has multi-volume encyclopedic editions from the 19th - early 20th centuries.
The museum's exhibition also includes works by Leo Tolstoy in various European languages, published during his lifetime.
A separate section of the museum is dedicated to books about Moscow. This includes editions about Moscow in different historical periods.
Wartime Publications
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The museum's collection includes Pubications from the period of World War II (1939-1945) from different countries and in various world languages, as well as editions from the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), printed in the USSR. These editions reflect what interested people and what was considered important enough to be published during such a difficult historical period when countries' economies were restructured for military purposes. |
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The museum's exhibition includes a lifetime edition of Alphonse de Lamartine's "History of the Revolution of 1848," printed in 1849, i.e., the year after the revolution. The edition is in French. It is interesting to note that Alphonse de Lamartine was the Minister of Foreign Affairs and, essentially, the head of the Provisional Government during the revolution. |
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Tribute to Time and New Opportunities…
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RUDN Educational and Scientific Information Library Center has started work on creating electronic versions of rare books from the museum's collection. Continuing this work will allow the RUDN digital library system to be enriched with valuable rare editions. Museum address: 117198, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya St., 6, Main building of RUDN, Educational and Scientific Information Library Center, 2nd floor Contact information: |
Books are ships of thought, wandering through the waves of time, and carefully carrying their precious cargo from generation to generation»
