From the history of development of book trade in Tomsk and Tomsk Province in late nineteenth - early twentieth century (Part one)

The study of the book culture in a particular period of history is connected with the need to identify ways and channels of distribution of books, recreating the most complete picture of the promotion of printed products to the reader. The analysis of the formation of a network of libraries and bookshops helps to determine the leading trends in the existence of the book in the cultural space of the region as well as to trace the relationship of book publishing and book distribution with socio-economic and spiritual changes in society. This is especially important for the book culture of Tomsk and Tomsk region of the 19th -early 20th centuries. The study of its development by modern science is still far from understanding the totality and complexity of the processes occurring in the given period. To consistently trace the paths of formation of Tomsk book culture of the 19th century to the beginning of the twentieth century the author refers to the history of the formation of the local bookstore network. Petty private sale of books in merchant shops and stalls along with household items, fairs, offerers as intermediaries in barter and providers of cheap and religious literature, ABCs to simple readers were replaced or supplemented by buying books at auctions, activities of the city administration and churches to implement the principle of compulsory, forced spread of certain publications in the lower agencies. "Corrupted libraries" organized by educational bodies, publishing houses and other cultural institutions had a cultural and educational function. A special stage of Tomsk book culture is the first major book selling enterprise in Tomsk - The Siberian Bookstore. It was initiated by P.I. Makushin and V.V. Mikhailov and opened on February 19, 1873. The second most important city's bookstore belonged to hereditary honorary citizen V.M. Posokhin. On the materials of the State Archive of Tomsk Region the process of individual book trade growth in Tomsk of the 1880-1900s is shown. Special attention is paid to the of educational literature in Tomsk which became the first university city in Siberia in the late 1880s. In general, in the first part of the article which is to be continued in the next issue it is concluded that Tomsk Province at the end of the 19th century formed the status of the most active center of book culture of Siberia.

Keywords

Authors

References