The Curiosity Chamber of Books at the State Hermitage Museum
1 April 2009 - 7 June 2009

In the Rotunda of the Winter Palace opened the exhibition Book Kunstkammer in the Hermitage from the collection of the Scientific Library of the State Hermitage Museum, the oldest museum library in Russia. The books presented at the exhibition differ from the traditional manuscripts and publications by their unusual form, size, cover design and binding of the inner book.

The exposition includes 128 books. The giant books are standing along with the tiny books that are impossible to read or look at their illustrations without a magnifying glass.

The biggest book height-wise (93.5 cm) is a facsimile edition of the Charter of electing Mikhail Romanov for the reign that was published in 1904 in Moscow. The heaviest book (57.5 kg) is The Golden Book of Lotharingia published in 1893 in Nancy. The thickest book (the thickness of the inner book is  18.5 cm) is The Alphabetic Index to the Collection of Statutes and Decrees for 1913. The longest book (6.16 m) is scroll-reproduction, the copy of the famous medieval Normandy Bayeux tapestry, dedicated to the Norman conquest of the Southern England.

Miniature publications (sizes from 2.5 to 5.8 cm) are presented by Orthodox and Muslim prayer books of the 17th - 20th century (the Church Calendar, the Gospel, the Koran) as well as by tiny books of secular content (Calendar for Ladies of 1812, photograph album of the end of the 19th century).

At all times the books for teaching and playing, joke books and toy books were of high demand. Peter Apian’s The Royal Astronomy of 1540 with the charts of astronomic instruments with movable paper components can be found at the exhibition. The Marine Calendar of 1886 includes a compass with a paper spinning reel for defining the course of the ship. Three toy-books from cardboard in a form of British soldiers, officers and artilleryman are of interest as well as the modern bibliophilic publications including pasted-in envelopes with letters, miniature books, facsimile archive documents.

The ‘eastern’ part of the exposition introduces various publications of the Koran and Torah, manuscripts, pleated books that came up to take the place of the scroll-books. These publications differ by their special refinement and singularity: books covered with fabric, flyleaves of striking beauty, ivory clasps with fine carving, painting on silk, calligraphy.

Special attention should be paid to the books that were intended and created by the artists from the beginning to the end. The works unusual in their forms and the materials created by the recognized modern artists of the genre were selected for the exhibition. The author’s book also includes a new modern form of art as book art-object. Here it is only the text and the illustrations that remain from the traditional book, but they are both seen as relative.

For the first time the exhibition presents the most wonderful monument of the Hermitage book collection the prayer book of the 18th century made by the French master of calligraphy F.-Ch. Gallond. His hand-written text can’t be distinguished from the printed.

The publications of the unusual construction, various book covers with decorations from beads, lacquer, and enamel, watercolour drawing on papers, embroidery, fabric, bone, mother-of-pearl, birch bark and fur tell us about the art of books decoration. Another way of books decoration is cases and articles for storing books such as chests, cabinets, highboys and boxes. They were made from cardboard or various species of wood, covered with leather, decorated with gold lettering and metal plates.

One of the exhibition parts represents publications with the samples of fabrics, laces, tulle, linen for military uniform, wood and carpet yarn.

The unique collection of books is complemented with the rarely exhibited pieces of small plastic and decorative and applied art of the 15th - 17th centuries made in the form of a book - a clock, a pen-stand, a flask, a medallion, a matchbox and a trinket, a pas and a purse, a box for letters and inkpots as well as trompe Poeils that were made in Holland during the first quarter of the 18th century presenting books in leather bindings with metal clasps.

The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by the State Hermitage Museum’s Publications.

The exhibition curator is Olga Zimina, deputy director of the Scientific Library of the State Hermitage Museum.

Morosophus. On Real and Personate Sapience. A comedy, both festive and pious
Morosophus. De vera ac personata sapientia. Comoedia non minus festiva, quàm pia
1541
Larger view

Collection of Theological Works by Protestant Pastors
Late 16th century
Larger view

Prayer Book
1720
Larger view

Almanac for the Year 1821
A pendant-book
1821
Larger view

Description of the Most Sacred Coronation of Their Imperial Majestics, Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna, of Entire Russia. 1856
1856
Larger view

Notebook in the form a cross
1st half of the 19th century
Larger view

Arkhangelsk Gospel of 1092
Facsimile edition of the 1092 manuscript
1912
Larger view

Alphabetical Index for the Codex of the Governments Degrees and Instructions, Published by the Ruling Senate. For the Year 1913
1914
Larger view