Metadata: A. A. Izmailov
Collection
- Country:
- Russia
- Holding institution:
- Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- Holding institution (official language):
- Институт русской литературы (Пушкинский Дом) Российской Академии наук
- Postal address:
- 199034, St. Petersburg, nab. Makarova, d. 4
- Phone number:
- (812) 328-19-01
- Web address:
- http://www.pushkinskijdom.ru
- Email:
- irliran@mail.ru
- Reference number:
- F. 115
- Title:
- A. A. Izmailov
- Title (official language):
- Измайлов А. А.
- Creator/accumulator:
- A. A. Izmailov
- Date(s):
- 1871/1923
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 573 archival storage units
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
- The fonds contains manuscripts of A. A. Izmailov’s literary works, articles and notes, and drafts of his letters (1903-18); letters from (1907-13) and to (1894-1920) him; title pages of books with dedicatory inscriptions by their authors (1901-16); and works and letters of various persons (1891-1919). Documents pertaining to Jewish history and culture (mainly in op. 3) include letters to A. A. Izmailov from Jewish writers, journalists, playwrights and theatrical figures (mainly regarding publication of their works in the Russian press): David Aizman (1916), S. An-skii (1913), G. Ia. Aronson (undated), P. I. Veinberg (undated), I. Gerson (1917), M. O. Gershenzon (1915), Ia. V. Godin (1916), O. Dymov (Perel’man) (undated, and 1912-16), A. E. Kaufman (undated, and 1916), A. E. Kogan (1918), N. O. Lerner (1915), K. N. L’dov (Rozenblium), (1905, 1906, and undated), V. A. Rappoport (1909), M. L. Slonimskii (1906, 1919), V. V. Trakhtenberg (1904, 1908), and others.
- Administrative/biographical history:
-
Aleksandr Alekseevich Izmailov (1873-1921) was a writer and literary critic. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Theological Academy in 1897. In 1895 he began publishing his writings (in part under the pseudonym “Smolenskii”) in Zhivoe obozrenie, Syn otechestva, Novosti, and Sever. In 1898 he joined the staff of Birzhevye vedomosti, writing a weekly criticism column and theatre reviews, and heading the literary criticism section. He was also a contributor to the weekly Teatr i iskusstvo. He wrote poetry and stories (collections titled The Black Crow [1901], A Fish’s Word [1903], In the Seminary [1903], etc.) and the novel The Hurricane (1909). His critical works were collected in the books On the Verge (1908), The Eclipsing of Little Gods and New Idols (1910), Literary Olympus (1911) and Motley Banners (1913). His literary parodies and caricatures – The Curved Mirror (1908) etc. – were quite popular. He was also the author of the book Chekhov. 1860-1904. A Biographical Sketch (1916) and he wrote prefaces to the collected works of A. I. Levitov, P. I. Mel’nikov-Pecherskii, etc. After the October Revolution, he lectured at the Institute of Journalism and in courses for workers and Red Army servicemen.
The Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) (IRLI RAN) is a research institution within the Russian Academy of Sciences system. It was established in December 1905 on the initiative of several Russian cultural figures. In 1899, the Academy of Sciences had organised a commission to prepare celebrations of the centenary of Alexander Pushkin’s birth. The commission originally planned to erect a monument to the poet, but eventually it was decided to establish a museum and library. In April 1906, government funding was allocated for the acquisition of Pushkin’s library, which, upon its transfer to Pushkin House, became the initial basis for an enormous collection of books, manuscripts, and items related to the great Russian poet. The main fonds of the Pushkin House was assembled by B L Modzalevskii. He also drafted the “Pushkin House statute”, ratified by Emperor Nicholas II in 1907. Since 1930, the Pushkin House has been the academic Institute of Russian Literature while also preserving its original name of Pushkin House. In 1955, the Pushkin House was added to the State Codex of Particularly Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage. The Pushkin House is currently one of the leading centres for research on Russian literature.
The manuscripts department constitutes a complex for source studies; along with the literary museum and library, it served as the basis for the establishment of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) (IRLI RAN) in 1930. It was organised in 1906, when the Pushkin House received the library of A. S. Pushkin, numbering over 3,500 volumes. In 1908, the first manuscript materials were received: A. N. Pleshcheev’s letters to V. D. Dandevil’ and autograph manuscripts of A. S. Pushkin; subsequently received (1928) was a collection of Pushkin-era manuscripts and memorabilia that had belonged to A. F. Onegin. By resolution of the government (1938) and Academy (1948), all Pushkin autograph manuscripts formerly held in the country’s various archives were concentrated at Pushkin House. In 1917, the manuscript heritage of M. Iu. Lermontov was transferred to Pushkin House, and in 1919, the Dashkov collection and the collection of M. I. Semevskii, consisting especially of the extensive archive of the journal Russkaia starina [Russian Antiquities]. Upon the incorporation of Pushkin House into the Academy of Sciences structure in 1930, the manuscripts department was established and tasked with the special functions of collecting, housing, systematising and studying the manuscript heritage of Russian writers, and fonds of their personal papers were organised. The manuscripts department also includes collections of literary organisations, publishing houses and periodicals. In all, the manuscripts department houses over 900 fonds and collections. There are also numerous reference and biblioGraphic materials, first and foremost the card catalogue of S. A. Vengerov. This is joined by the card catalogues of B. L. and L. B. Modzalevskii, as well as of V. I. Saitov; these contain bibliographic, biographical and genealogical information, not only about writers but also about the entire cultural stratum of 19th-century Russian society. The manuscripts department is constantly updated with new materials. The department’s research activities are reflected in its publications and editions, its primary serial being the Yearbook of the Manuscripts Department of Pushkin House. The web site of the Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House) features an electronic version of the publication Personal Fonds of the Manuscripts Department of Pushkin House. An Annotated Index (St. Petersburg, 1999).
- Access points: persons/families:
- An-ski, S.
- Dymov, O.
- Gershenzon, M. O.
- Slonimskii, M. L.
- Veinberg, P.
- Subject terms:
- Correspondence
- Literature
- Literature--Novels, poetry, and plays
- System of arrangement:
- The fonds comprises six series arranged by structure and alphabetically.
- Finding aids:
- Inventories are available.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Jewish Theological Seminary
