“To Dear BorFed”: Newly Found Yu.M. Lotman’s Inscripts from the Library of B.F. Egorov

Abstract

The publication is a reproduction of twenty book inscripts by Yu.M. Lotman from the library of B.F. Egorov. These inscriptions on books, magazines and reprints of articles form a kind of dialogical form, definitely reminiscent of epistolary communication. The published inscripts are valuable evidence of comradely and collegiate communication between two remarkable scientists, who were connected by decades of productive cooperation. The first inscript is dated 1952, and the last one discovered is 1992. For the first time, the article presents the reproduction of Lotman’s drawing, which depicts the entire family of the scientist. The inscriptions are often built on a language game, they are playful and spontaneous, but still the basis of dedicatory inscriptions are those in which the enduring importance of friendship, collegiality and morality is emphasized. The scripts are printed from autographs kept in B.F. Egorov’s home library in St. Petersburg.