Collections of the Museum-Reserve ^,,Abramtsevo^,,

List of Museum Collections

1. Landscape

2. Icon

3. Drawing

4. Printed Graphics

5. Rare Book

6. Manuscripts

7. Memorial Photo and Record Library

8. Metals

9. Furniture

10. Abramtsevo Pottery and Folk Art

11. Sculpture

12. Glass and Porcelain

13. Abramtsevo Joinery

14. Russian Tile of the XVII-XVIII centuries

15. Arts and Crafts Department in Khotkovo

Rare Books Fund

The fund includes almost 1900 units. It is constructed on the basis of the materials about the Aksakovs and the Mamontovs periods of the history of Abramtsevo.

The most interesting materials of the Aksakovs period are the following:

1) The works by Sergey Aksakov: first editions, books with authographs of an author and members of his family, pre-revolutionary publications over the years, collected works in 5 volumes (1909), issued and devoted to the fiftieth of writer’s death.

2) Works by Ivan and Konstantin the Aksakovs, magazines and journals of their publication, periodical literature, containing the Aksakovs’ and their reviewers’ works.

3) Works of key leaders of Slavophilism, such as Alexey Khomyakov, Yury Samarin, Ivan and Pyotr the Kireyevsky, Alexander Koshelev.

4) Works of Nikolay Gogol: first editions of “Dead Souls” in 1842 and “The Government Inspector” in 1836 with an author’s autographs, pre-revolutionary publications over the years, collected works in 4 volumes in 1842.

5) Books of the end of the XVIII century and the beginning of the XIX century, referred to in “The Family Chronicle” and “The Childhood of Bagrov the Grandson”.

6) Books within the reading circle of the Aksakovs family, referred to in their correspondence, “The Diary” by Vera Aksakova, “The History of My Meeting with Gogol” by Sergey Aksakov.

7) Works of the authors of Aksakov’s period: Nikolay Karamzin, Michail Zagoskin, Jakov Knyazhnin, Nestor Kukolnik.

The basis of the Mamontov’s fund consists of the preserved part of the family library. Most interesting are the following books:

1) Works by the writers of the second part of the XIX century such as Ivan Turgenev, Ivan Goncharov, Jakov Polonsky, Afanasy Fet, Lev Tolstoy (from the Mamontovs’ family library).

2) Works by the eldest son of the Mamontovs, a writer and journalist Sergey Mamontov with his autographs.

3) Books on art and history of Italy.

4) “The Chronicle of Our Artistic Circle”, published in printing house of Savva Mamontov’s brother in 1894, dedicated to the twentieth of the Abramtsevo Colony. It includes plays, staged at home theatre, cast list, photos of scenes from the performances. Fund has 2 originals of it. One of them has the notes written by Savva Mamontov.

5) “Holy Bible or sacred books of the Old Testament and the New”, including 230 drawings by Gyustav Dore in 3 volumes. 1878.

Besides family library, the Mamontov’s fund includes:

1) Rare books, dedicated to the Artistic Circle art: by Ilya Repin, Vasily Polenov, Valentin Serov, Michail Vrubel and Mark Antokolsky.

2) Periodical editions of the end of the XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries: “Art and Art Industry”, “World of Art”, “Capital and Estate”.

3) Books on English, French, Italian, German languages. Among them – works by Moliere, Rasin, Kornel.

4) Libretto and Clavier of operas, staged at “Russian Private Opera” by Savva Mamontov.

It is funded by editions of the XVIII and the XIX centuries, that feature literary and artistic life of Russia.

Fund of Manuscripts and Documents

The fund includes almost 2100 units. It is constructed on the basis of the materials about the Aksakovs and the Mamontovs periods of the history of Abramtsevo; documents relevant to the history of the Estate and the Museum.

The most interesting materials of the Aksakovs period are the following:

1) Letters of the Aksakovs to different persons and correspondence between them;

2) Letters by Nikolay Gogol, correspondence between Maria Gogol, her daughters and the Aksakovs;

3) Letters by Ivan Aksakov to Alexander Naryshkin and his wife Elizaveta Naryshkina in the 1877 – 1878 years, focused on Aksakov’s service as the President of Slavic Charitable Committee;

4) Letters by Ivan Aksakov to Alexander Koshelev during the 1852-1880 years. Most of the correspondence focused on the discussion of the removal of serfdom and its consequences;

5) An Album of 1847, presented to Sofya, the bride of Grigory Aksakov. It includes the passages from Sergey Aksakov’s works, poems and an article by Konstantin Aksakov “Public – people”, poems by Ivan Aksakov and daughters’ drawings;

6) An Album of messages to Olga Zaplatina, the bride of Sergey Aksakov (1816).

The most interesting materials of the Mamontovs’fund are the following books:

1) Family correspondence between the Mamontovs;

2) Correspondence between Elizaveta Mamontova and Elena Polenova;

3) Letters of the Mamontovs to different persons and correspondence between them;

4) Manuscripts with recollections of Vsevolod Mamontov about Savva Mamontov, Russian Private Opera, artists of Abramtsevo Circle.

A special place is here taken by “The Chronicle of Abramtsevo village”, that described all events of the estate life, guests’ visits and home theatricals.

Also the fund keeps the materials about activity of the master of Abramtsevo joinery Egor Zelenkov and the artists Vladimir Sokolov and Sergey Malyutin.

In 1980 the fund of the Prakhovs was purchased by Museum. It includes 288 items of manuscripts and documents, concerned with life and activities of an art historian and archeologist Adrian Prakhov (1846-1916), and the philologist and linguist Mstislav Prakhov (1840-1879). Brothers were at Abratsevo very often and strongly influenced the formation of artistic and esthetic ideology of Abramtsevo Circle.

The greater part of the fund is published by the Museum in different editions.