Letters of D.V. Ulyaninsky to P.P. Shibanov as a Source on the History of Bibliophilia and Bibliography

Abstract

On the basis of epistolary sources from 1895—1913 from the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library and the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, the history of the relationships between D.V. Ulyaninsky and P.P. Shibanov is reconstructed. The letters contain information about the sources and principles of the formation of D.V. Ulyaninsky’s library, his bibliographic studies, prices for antique books, personal relations, as well as about the lifestyle and communication style of the bibliophile, who avoided ritual visits on the occasion of holidays and took care of replenishing his book collection constantly, even on vacation and during illness. The sources demonstrate exactly which defects D.V. Ulyaninsky considered unacceptable for the books of his collection. The article shows the source aspects of his scientific work: determining the authenticity of book monuments, establishing their authorship and the history of the text. The unapproved coat of arms of the Ulyaninskys, which the bibliophile used on his seal in 1902, is first described. It is concluded that the letters of D.V. Ulyaninsky to P.P. Shibanov have a significant cognitive potential for studying the history of bibliophilia, bibliography, trade in antique books and intellectual life of Russian at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries.