The Romanovs: Their Empire, Their
Books.
The Political, Religious, Cultural, and Social Life of Russia's Imperial House
The
Romanovs: Their Empire, Their Books
The glorious palaces, exquisite art and music,
and opulent furniture and jewelry of the Russian
imperial family are survivors of a lost age that
are familiar to many Westerners, thanks to countless
exhibits of such materials here and abroad. A much
less well-known, yet equally tangible legacy of
the Romanov dynasty are the books that once lined
the shelves of their personal and palace collections.
The sales to Westerners of nationalized fine and
decorative art from Romanov residences in the 1920s – sales
that brought the many Fabergé eggs and Old
Master paintings into private collections in America – were
paralleled by the less readily appreciated sales
of books, manuscripts, and photographic albums.
This exhibit presents a selection of some 124 items from a collection of over
3,000 Romanov volumes acquired by The New York Public Library during the 1920s
and 30s, organized thematically according to six broad areas: Empire, War, Exploration, Work
and Leisure, Culture, and Faith.
Leaving aside their intrinsic intellectual interest, many of these items are
also remarkable examples of the "book beautiful and rare," in sumptuous bindings
or extra-illustrated editions. Some are unique albums of original photographs;
others are handwritten, or hectographed, intended for the eyes of only the
very highest echelons of the Tsarist government. The exhibit attempts to provide
an appreciation and understanding of the complex nature and structure of the
Russian empire of the eighteenth through twentieth centuries through the prism
of selected volumes once owned by members of the Romanov family. Underlying
the exhibit is the premise that these books reflect certain basic assumptions
(correct or incorrect) on the part of the Romanov dynasty, concerning the multiethnic
culture and society over which it ruled for more than three centuries.
Interspersed among the volumes on display are objects of Russian secular and
ecclesiastical art. During the 1920s and 30s, American dealers of Russian artifacts
employed books from the Romanov libraries as decoration for displaying the
works of art and religion which they so readily sold. This exhibit, on the
other hand, stands this traditional idea of Romanov "riches" on its head, making books the
focus of attention and demonstrating that in many respects, a finely bound
tome or photo album is, in its own way, every bit as spectacular as the objects
we traditionally associate with the Imperial House.
Next Section: Cases
1 & 2: Personages and Palaces
