Visual Resources from
Russia and Eastern Europe
in The New York Public Library
A Checklist
Hee-Gwone Yoo, The New York Public Library &
Kristen Regina
Introduction by Kristen Regina, Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens
Preface by John E. Bowlt, Institute of Modern Russian Culture,
University of Southern California
120 illustrations in color
The New York Public Library
SLAVIC, BALTIC, AND EURASIAN RESOURCE SERIES
Reviewed in Research Book News — May 2009:
"The diversity of materials and the care with which they have been categorized here makes this more than a mere list. Researchers can find one of the largest collections of Russian and East European visual resources outside of Russia, comprising nearly 900 books, journals, posters, engravings, prints and original works on paper, principally from the eighteenth through the early twentieth centuries. In addition, the text is augmented by more than 120 color illustrations chosen from titles noted to be held almost exclusively by the New York Public Library. Seven appendices also describe approximately 3,000 images contained within seven rare and important illustrated folios. Each entry includes an English translation of the title and a bibliographic description, and the preface and introduction explain the contexts of the entries and their significance to the history of Russian and Eastern European visual resources. This reference is both interesting and gorgeous." (Annotation ©2009 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Library binding, acid-free paper,
x, 268 p., 8 1/2x11",
978-0-88354-046-6 (Out of print; only available as a
PDF )..................................................... $100
Visual Resources from Russia
and Eastern Europe
in The New York Public Library
A Checklist
In the realm of Russian and East European Visual Resources, The New York
Public Library has few peers outside of Russia. This volume describes nearly
900 heavily illustrated books, journals, posters, engravings and prints, as
well as original works of art on paper, in the Library's collections, principally
from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. In the words of art historian John
E. Bowlt, the "books, albums, folios in The New York Public Library constitute
a unique collection for the study of Russian art, architecture, the applied
arts and material culture in the Western world."
Among the topics and subjects covered are art and archaeology, militaria,
travel, ethnography, cartography, depictions of historic sites and book design.
The work is enhanced by more than 120 color illustrations drawn from
those items in the core list that can be found only in The New York Public
Library. The utility of the Checklist is further enhanced by a
series of seven appendices that list approximately 3,000 individual plates
and images contained in a selected number of heavily illustrated reference
books, such as Fedor Solntsev's Drevnosti rossiisskogo gosudarstva
[Antiquities of the Russian State] (1849-1853) and Dmitrii Rovinskii's
Materialy dlia russkoi ikonografii [Materials for Russian Iconography]
(1884-1890), as well as several large groups of early Soviet posters, prints
and broadsides and Constructivist book covers. In addition to the appendices
the work also includes an exhaustive index by subject, title, publisher, date
of publication and personal names to facilitate access to the various works.
Each entry includes an English translation of the title and a bibliographic description. Titles originally in Cyrillic have been transliterated. The works cataloged are mostly found in the Slavic and Baltic Division. However, many other divisions of the Library are also represented.
The present volume is the first attempt to analyze the Library's illustrated books and works on paper in detail. The Introduction explains the significance of the illustrated Russian book and situates New York Public Library's holdings in the context of other libraries with similar collections. A Preface by John Bowlt provides broader context.
Visual Resources from Russia and Eastern Europe in The New York Public Library: A Checklist. Hee-Gwone Yoo and Kristen Regina. Introduction by Kristen Regina; Preface, John Bowlt. 120 illustrations in full color.
“Visual Resources from Russia and Eastern Europe in The New York Public Library” by Hee-Gwone Yoo and Kristen Regina, has been awarded the prestigious 2008 Worldwide Books Award for Publications by the Art Libraries Society of North America. The purpose of the award is to recognize outstanding publications by ARLIS/NA members in librarianship or visual resources curatorship, and the arts. In making the award at the annual ARLIS/NA meeting in 2009, Stephanie Moye and Nancy Spiegel, of the awards committee, stated that “the committee was very impressed by the quality of the research. The work is an essential reference tool for anyone interested in Slavic visual materials. It is also a very beautiful book.”
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