Scholarly Conference: "The Book Mark. Symbol of Ownership and Work of Art"

On 11-12 March 2004 a scholarly conference was held in the museum devoted to the genre of ex libris, original small scale graphic works, artistic works, decorations for books, and collectible items. An introductory address was delivered to the participants by Deputy Director of the State Hermitage for Scholarly Work G.V. Vilinbakhov. Among the participants were specialists from the Hermitage as well as scholars from many museums and libraries of Russia and abroad.

The main reports included research on the following: book marks signifying ownership by N.B. Yusupov, Senior, by the library of Prince A.I. Baryatinsky, and by A.B. Lobanov-Rostovsky ; items of ex libris from the library of the Old Believer M.I. Chubanov; book marks from the collection of the Princes Esterhazy; ex libris in the collection of V.V. Velichko and those held in the collection of the German Museum of the Book and Typeface (Leipzig); book marks of Fedor Zakharov; collections of ex libris on the theme of the Lay of Igor’s Host; ancient ex libris from the National Library of Estonia; and also publishers’ book marks from Germany and the end of the 19th and start of the 20th centuries.

Reports on the second day of the conference dealt with: a study of the book collection of N. Khodotov; ex libris from the family of Shulenburgs, from collections of the Demidov noble family, and from the collection of E.N. Golyakhovsky; Russian super-ex libris in the collection of N.P. Likhachev; book marks of the noble family of Zinovievs in the ex libris collection of GMZ Peterhof; the attribution of super-ex libris having elements of personal and territorial coats of arms; incunabula of the Russian book mark; the book mark as an element in the automated data base of the manuscripts department at the Library of the Academy of Sciences; and also the fate of collectors and of their collections.

At the conference

While reports were being read