About books. Journal of Bibliophiles

It was conceived as a successor to the traditions of bibliophile periodicals of the early XX century. His predecessors are the magazines published by the bookseller and collector N. V. Solovyov, Antiquar (1902-1903) and Russian Bibliophile (1911-1916).

Since 2008, the journal’s editorial and publishing council has been headed by the chairman of the National Union of Bibliophiles , the head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications, M.V. Seslavinsky .

Today the magazine “About Books” can rightly be considered a real encyclopedia of bibliophile life of the XXI century ^{[1] [2]} . Each issue publishes articles on rare books published both in Russia and abroad, unique archival materials, reviews of the results of Moscow auctions and bidding of Russian books at auctions in Europe and the USA, “bibliophile walks” in various cities of the world (Odessa, Florence, Berlin, Paris, Geneva, London, Ottawa, Barcelona). The magazine portraits reflected the genre of “portraits of bibliophiles and lovers of book antiquity”: an interview with literary critic and bibliographer L. M. Turchinsky , French bibliophile Rene Guerra , graphic artist D. Yu. Becker , an outstanding Russian mathematician, and a famous bibliophile M. I. . Bashmakov ^[3] , fragments from the memoirs of the People's Artist of the USSR O. V. Basilashvili ^[4] memoirs of the Siberian bibliophile B. N. Varava, memories of the Soviet artist and bibliophile N. P. Smirnov-Sokolsky , bibliographer and publisher P. A. Efremov ^[5] , the artist of the book F.S. Rozhankovsky ^[6] .

Thematic issues periodically appear reflecting important events in the book culture of Russia, including the 130th anniversary of the birth of A. A. Blok (2010. No. 3), the 200th anniversary of the birth of N. V. Gogol (2009. No. 1) , as well as issues dedicated to the memory of N. S. Gumilyov (2011. No. 4) ^[7] and N. P. Smirnov-Sokolsky (2012. No. 1) ^[8] , the 200th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 (2012, No. 3).

The authors of the articles are members of the National Union of Bibliophiles , leading employees of Russian libraries ( RSL , RSL ), museums, galleries, art historians, book historians, as well as the practice of antique-second-hand book trade. Among them, book scholar E.L. Nemirovsky , bibliophile A.L. Finkelstein, literary critic, researcher of Russian futurism A.E. Parnis , classic of domestic graphic design, art critic V.G. Krichevsky . One of the leading Russian book schedules, I. A., collaborates with the magazine. Sakurov and famous domestic comic book artist A.R. Ayoshin.

Readers' genuine interest was aroused by bibliophile jokes published in the journal ^[9] , illustrated by the remarkable Russian artist I. A. Dmitrenko, and the bibliophile comic book "Revenge of the Moscow Bibliophile" (script by M. V. Seslavinsky , drawings by A. R. Ayoshin) ^[10] .

Together with the National Union of Bibliophiles, the magazine "About Books" is the founder of the medal "For personal contribution to the development of the national bibliophilia named after NP Smirnov-Sokolsky." The medal is awarded to individuals who have made a great contribution to the promotion and development of the bibliophile movement in the Russian Federation.

Medalist V.B. Ananyin created a table medal based on a sketch by artist M.A. Ivanova. A medal was made of tompac with silvering in the amount of 10 copies. In the set, a frach silver badge with selective gilding is also awarded ^[11] .

Distinguished bibliophiles O.G. Lasunsky (Voronezh), V.A. Petritsky (St. Petersburg), L.I. Chertkov (Moscow) (2013), Ya.I. Berdichevsky (Berlin) (2014).

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the magazine , the Marka Publishing Center issued a marked labeled envelope , the cancellation ceremony of which took place on September 5 as part of the 25th Moscow International Book Fair.

The envelope design was developed by O. Pryadkina. The circulation amounted to 500 thousand copies ^[12] .

• Lavrenova A.Yu. Magazine "About books". To the anniversary of the publication // University book. - 2012. - June.
• Nazarevskaya N. About books: The amazing spirit of book passion // Among collectors. - 2011. - No. 3.
• "About Books" // Big Russian Encyclopedia. T. 27. 2014.S. 538.
• Safronova K.V. "About the books." Bibliophile Journal // Biblio-Globus. Book Digest. - 2012. - No. 06-07.
• Chistyakov S.S. Magazine "About books". The role of bibliophile-style periodicals in preserving book culture and book collecting traditions // 150 years in the service of science and education: collection of materials of the Anniversary international scientific conference, Moscow, December 5–6, 2013 M., 2014.
• Encyclopedia of bibliophile life of the XXI century // Literary newspaper. - 2012. - No. 23-24.
• Encyclopedia of bibliophile life. In May, the magazine "About Books" celebrates its fifth anniversary // Book Review. - 2012. - No. 378.

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