Museums of Russia: Exhibition "Rarities of the Palace Library. Books. Marking the 200th Anniversary of the Rossi Library" presented at the State Museum "Pavlovsk"

The State Museum "Pavlovsk" launched a large-scale project marking the 200th anniversary of the Palace Library (Rossi Library). On the eve of the anniversary year 2024, the Pavlovsk Palace will host a series of exhibitions representing its library's collections - books, manuscripts, prints, gems, drawings and architectural graphics. The first exposition, devoted to the rich book collection, was launched on June 24, 2021.

The exhibition "Rarities of the Palace Library. Books" features 170 volumes that show the composition of the book collection. The showcases display unique manuscripts and early printed books, including illuminated Horologions or Books of Hours of the XV–XVI centuries, Cosmography by Sebastian Münster of 1594 - a description of countries and continents illustrated according to geographical concepts and discoveries of the XVI century. The selection of printed books of the XIX century includes a book masterpiece or "Russian miracle book" - Nikolai Kondakov's History and Monuments of Byzantine Enamel. Collection by Zvenigorodsky, issued in the printing house of the Expedition of State Papers in 1892. This book belonged to Grand Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich.

The Rossi Cabinet displays 135 publications from the Pavlovsk Palace library. They were donated in 1942 by Baron Eberhard von Künsberg, who supervised the transit of book collections and archives from the USSR to Nazi Germany, to Werner von der Schulenburg, the former German Ambassador to the USSR. The books were returned to Pavlovsk by his great-nephews Friedrich-Aschaz and Stefan von der Schulenburg in 2013. This collection comprises one of the first complete works of Gotthold Lessing (1771); Paris edition of letters to Honoré Gabriel Mirabeau (1798); Memoirs of the Private Life of Marie Antoinette, Queen of France and Navarre and Stories and Historical Anecdotes about the Regency of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI by Jeanne Louise Campan (1823); History of Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre by Mademoiselle de La Force (1783).

The restoration of the historical collection and new acquisitions of rare and unique publications is the most important directions of the museum collecting work. The exhibition displays the Memoirs of the Duke de Guise (1668) and Memoirs of Madame de Stael (1756). These books were sold in the late 1920s. Publications returned to the museum in 2020 thanks to the financial support of VTB Bank.