The Prince Nikolay Konstantinovich Romanov’s personal library: The provenance and existence in Turkestan in the late 19th – early 20th century

Abstract

The authors revive the history of the Prince Nikolay Romanov’s personal library, its presence in Turkestan, and characterize its features. They define the role of the owner as an educator, researcher, and bibliophile. The article is based on the periodicals, academic papers, memoirs, letters and archival materials of that period. The main methods applied were historical bibliological analysis, and visual observation of library and archival collections. The archival documents being introduced into scientific discourse enable to investigate into the matters related to selection principle, ex libris and inscripts. The Grand Duke Romanov’s book collection can be partially reconstructed with the collections of A. Navoi National Library of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences Fundamental Library. The study expands the knowledge of the Prince’s personal library, of his scientific interest and reading preferences. The findings will be interesting to the researchers of the Russian emigration, book and library historians. The authors conclude that Grand Duke Nikolay Romanov was a philanthropist, researcher, and bibliophile. His personal book collection is of great value for study and preservation of Russian cultural heritage in the Republic of Uzbekistan.