Category: New Acquisitions

Beautiful Ukrainian donations : the April 2024 Ukrainian item(s) of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn Slavonic, Ukrainian, New AcquisitionsLeave a comment

A few weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to receive a donation of five lovely books from the Kharkiv-based publisher Oleksandr Savchook and the organisation Progress-14.

The five donations add to the 12 Savchook titles we had previously bought and which were published between 2014 and 2021.  The five new publications, which reflect the core strengths of Mr Savchook’s publishing house in terms of their concentration on the arts, were published in 2022 and 2023 and make very welcome additions to Cambridge’s Ukrainian collection. Continue reading “Beautiful Ukrainian donations : the April 2024 Ukrainian item(s) of the month” →

Kyivan Christianity – 14 new volumes : the March 2024 Ukrainian item(s) of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn New Acquisitions, Slavonic, UkrainianLeave a comment

While the Ukrainian Christmas largely joined the western Christmas in 2023, this Easter will still see a substantial difference, with the western churches celebrating Christ’s resurrection in March and Ukrainians celebrating in May.  Nevertheless, the Easter weekend for most in Cambridge seems a good time to mark the arrival of many new volumes in the Kyivan Christianity set.

illustrations from volumes 20, 29, 31

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Percy Cruikshank’s Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war (1870) in context

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, French, Historical collections, New Acquisitions, Special collectionsLeave a comment

Two years ago, Cambridge University Library acquired a satirical pocket-size (but 3 meters long, once unfolded) Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war by Percy Cruikshank (1870) (8000.e.354). This work is a good complement to the library’s Collection of 1870-71 Franco-Prussian caricatures from a British perspective. In a talk taking place on Thursday 7 March from 5-6pm in the University Library’s Milstein room, as part of the Cambridge History of Material Texts seminar, we are going to present Cruikshank’s panorama and contextualise this work within the author’s creation of other comic cartoons produced in the concertina format.

Panorama of the Franco Prussian War, painted by PC [Percy Cruikshank], London : F. Platts, 185 Fleet Street EC, & Mann Nephews, 39 Cornhill E.C., [1870-71].
Percy Cruikshank, The Comic History of the Russian War, London : Read & Co., 1856-57.

Continue reading “Percy Cruikshank’s Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war (1870) in context” →

Postage stamps : the Ukrainian item(s) of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn New Acquisitions, Slavonic, UkrainianLeave a comment

Books about stamps are not a huge business in modern purchasing at the University Library, but they can be incredibly interesting to more than the dedicated philatelist.  We recently bought two volumes about Ukrainian stamps more for the principles and attitudes reflected in the stamps than for the images themselves.  What inspires a government agency in its selection of images?  It’s a particularly keen question when it comes to a country whose last 10 years have seen parts of its territory overtaken by illegal annexation and ruined by a growing war.

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24.02.2022 in the words of Ukrainians

On By europeancollectionsIn English, New Acquisitions, Slavonic, UkrainianLeave a comment

Today Ukrainians remember the shock of the air strikes in the early hours of 24 February 2022 that heralded Russia’s full-scale invasion of their country and mark the appalling destruction and loss that continue to this day.  A great deal has been written across the world about Russia’s move from the previous 8 years of conflict to this open war (“special military operation”) but in this post we focus on what has been written specifically by Ukrainians, including new translations into English.

Interest in the Ukrainian language outside the country leapt following Russia’s assault, as awareness of Ukrainian culture and identity grew and as those working with and hosting refugees from the war worked to gain at least basic knowledge of the language.  But the many resources we collect in the UL in Ukrainian to capture Ukrainians’ experience of the devastating war will still have a fairly small audience, so we try to pick up translations into English as much as possible too, so that all our library readers have the chance to hear directly from those facing the attack.

Continue reading “24.02.2022 in the words of Ukrainians” →

Finnish municipal architecture

On By europeancollectionsIn Finnish, New Acquisitions, ScandinavianLeave a comment

At the end of 2023, we received a donation of architecture books from Roger Shrimplin, a Cambridge MA and practising architect.  The books we had selected from the list Mr Shrimplin had sent to us were mainly in English, Spanish, and various East European languages, but among them was also this lovely 1985 book in Finnish and Swedish.

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Ukrainian ceramicist Olʹha Rapaĭ-Markish : the January 2024 Slavonic item of the month

On By europeancollectionsIn New Acquisitions, Slavonic, UkrainianLeave a comment

The 2018 publication Olʹha Rapaĭ-Markish arrived in Cambridge later that same year but I only recently managed to take a proper look.  Olʹha Rapaĭ-Markish (also known as Olʹha Rapaĭ or the anglicised Olha/Olga Rapay), 1929-2012, was a Ukrainian artist most known for her ceramics, large and small, and this book explores her often tragic life and her delightful work.  [Note that her father, Peret︠s︡/Peretz Markish, the major Yiddish writer who was shot in Moscow in 1952 during the Night of the Murdered Poets, features in the book, and that we have other books by/about him here.]

It’s impossible to do justice to the book’s reproductions of the artist’s work with only a phone camera, but hopefully the images here give some kind of tempting idea.  Rapaĭ-Markish’s work ranged from the large-scale (featuring in and on several buildings in Kyïv) but this book’s reproductions focus more on her small-scale work, especially the wonderful figurines she produced, full of life and joy – and cats (the book includes a photo of the artist with her cat muse).  This is our only book about Rapaĭ-Markish’s work, and definitely worth calling up to consult in the UL.

Mel Bach

The vyshyvanka returns

On By europeancollectionsIn New Acquisitions, Slavonic, UkrainianLeave a comment

This week, we look at a newly arrived and beautifully illustrated book about Ukrainian embroidery in terms of the vyshyvanka, the traditional decorated shirt that I wrote about in 2022.

“–A i︠a︡ svoi︠u︡ vyshyvanku d’ sert︠s︡i︠u︡ pryhortai︠u︡…” : kolekt︠s︡ii︠a︡ vzirt︠s︡iv narodnoï vyshyvky z fondovoï zbirky uz︠h︡horodsʹkoho skansenu =
My vyshyvanka is close to my heart… : a collection of folk embroidery samples from the stock collection of the Uzhhorod scansen is a bilingual Ukrainian-English catalogue written by Vasylʹ Kot︠s︡an and Teti︠a︡na Solohub-Kot︠s︡an.  It is based on a collection held within the wider Zakarpatsʹkyĭ muzeĭ narodnoï arkhitektury ta pobutu (Transcarpathian Museum of Folk Architecture and Life).  Our copy describes itself as a second edition, but from what I can see, Cambridge currently holds the only copy of any edition in any UK or US academic library. Continue reading “The vyshyvanka returns” →