Slavic and Russian Books and Libraries:
Occasional Essays and Notes
By Edward Kasinec and
Robert H. Davis, Jr.
With an introduction by Cynthia Hyla Whitaker
20 Essays for Slavicists, Students of Russian Culture and Bibliophiles
Edward Kasinec has served as Curator of
the Slavic and Baltic Division of The New York Public Library for nearly a quarter
of a century, the second longest tenure (after Avrahm Yarmolinsky) in the history
of the Division. Over most of these years Robert H. Davis, Jr. has served as
Assistant Curator. They have overseen an enormous expansion of the collection,
while creating a body of professional literature in the Slavic field. The present
volume is a selection of the texts (not including the original illustrations)
of 20 of their contributions to Slavic book culture originally published over
a period of nearly 25 years in diverse journals and formats. This volume introduces
the reader to little-known but important chapters in Russian cultural history
and it presents a narration of how the New York Public Library came to possess
one of the world's greatest collections of Russian and eastern European materials.
"The NYPL has played a key role in the advancement of Slavic bibliography in
the US during the last century. Specifically, this volume draws attention to
the lesser-known aspects of Russian intellectual life and contributes to the
broader field of cultural studies. In fact, this convenient compilation of essays
draws from disparate and not always widely-available sources, saving the reader's
time." ---Prof. John V. Richardson Jr., PhD, UCLA
Contents:
The book is divided into three sections, which are preceded
by a Preface and followed by an Afterword, a Bibliography and an Index. Articles
are divided into three broad sections:
• Books and Libraries for example, "The Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich
and His Library";
• Bookmen and Women, "L.B. Khavkina (1871-1949), American Library
Ideas in Russia and the Development of Soviet Librarianship"; and
• The Illustrated Book,, "A Note on Konstantin Somov's Erotic Book Illustration."
Publication Date: September 2007 Library
binding, acid-free paper, 214 p.,
978-088354-0442.....................................................................................................$50
Pre-pub price through August 31, 2007.................................................................
$40