“I Collect Mainly Bibliography”: Letters From D.V. Ulyaninsky to Bibliographers and Library Scientists

The article presents the publication of 12 letters from the outstanding bibliophile and bibliographer D.V. Ulyaninsky (1861—1918) addressed to the authors of bibliographic and library science works V.I. Saitov (1849—1938), A.V. Smirnov (1854—1918), E.A. Voltaire (1856—1941), V.P. Semennikov (1885—1936), P.M. Bogdanov (1871—1919). They are kept in the Manuscript Department of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the State Archive of the Vladimir Region, the St. Petersburg Branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian National Library. They discuss issues related to obtaining publications from bibliographers and library scientists, purchasing rare editions, bookdonating and book exchange, and clarifying bibliographic information. A letter to V.I. Saitov (1894), written during the early period of D.V. Ulyaninsky’s bibliophile activity, contains a description of his book interests and a description of a number of rarities that had entered his collection by that time. D.V. Ulyaninsky’s epistolary letters to the famous historian of Russian literature of the 18 century and bibliographer V.P. Semennikov include valuable additions to his bibliographic works devoted to the early period of provincial printing in Russia. In particular, Ulyaninsky can be considered the discoverer of the rarest provincial publication “Detailed Description of Printing Posts” by P.E. Filippov (Perm, 1796), which is still known today in the only surviving copy.