On 3 September 2019, the exhibition “Alphabets and ABCs in the Hermitage Collection” opens in the Moorish Hall of the Winter Palace. It tells about the main stages in the development of educational books, children’s books and artists’ books, as well as the evolution of the Russian alphabet.
The display comprises some 30 books and also works of decorative and applied art.
Among the rare publications is an illustrated fully engraved primer (with each page printed from a separate plate that included the letters and words) that was brought out in 1692 by the hieromonk (ordained monk) Karion Istomin. The book belonged to the family of Prince Mikhail Yuryevich Shcherbatov (1678–1738), a prominent military commander.
One unique exhibit is two primers, one for French, the other for German, bound together in a single silver cover that carries the personal ex-libris of Grand Duke Pavel Petrovich, the future Emperor Paul I.
Towards the turn of the 20th century, there was a trend to print facsimile editions of handwritten alphabets and scrolls, providing people with the opportunity to acquaint themselves with works that were rare or in poor condition. Such publications include, for example, a reproduction of one of the first ABCs printed using the modernized typeface of Peter the Great’s day with the Emperor’s own handwritten comments.
Of particular interest are the ABCs that had prominent 20th-century Russian book illustrators and artists involved in their making. The Alphabet in Pictures by Alexander Benois, sumptuously finished with fabulous illustrations in the spirit of the World of Art movement, belonged to Tsesarevich Alexei, the son of the last Tsar. Another – Das deutsche ABC-Buch in German – had belonged to his father, the future Nicholas II, in childhood.
The ABCs with illustrations by Vladimir Konashevich and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky were published after the revolution in accordance with the new orthography and omitted the “old-regime” letters. Fourteen Drawings for a Ukrainian Alphabet, an unfinished project by Georgy Narbut, was published with a small print-run in memory of that remarkable graphic artist.
The Ivan Fedorov publishing house has published a Petersburg Alphabet that introduces young readers not only to Russian letters but also to the history and sights of the city.
The Arca publishing houses produces ABCs for children in Russian, English and German that are illustrated with details of paintings and other exhibits from the Hermitage collection. The small, brightly coloured books acquaint children not only with letters but also with some of the museum’s masterpieces.
Two publications in the livre d’artiste genre – the collective project A Russian Primer and Nina Kazimova’s Alphabet Prayer – reflect a contemporary artistic take on the traditional primer.
The exhibition has been organized by the Research Library of the State Hermitage with the participation of the Department of the History of Russian Culture, the Department of Western European Applied Art and the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
The exhibition curator is Olga Ivanovna Ostanina from the staff of the Research Library.
