Iakerson Sh. M. Who Was Collecting Hebrew Books in the Capital of Russian Empire and Why // Written Monuments of the Orient = Pis'mennye pamiatniki Vostoka. Vol. 18, no. 1 (44), 2021, pp. 74—83.
By the beginning of the 20th century, a unique collection of Hebrew manuscripts (more than 20,000 units) and first printed books was formed in the capital of the Russian Empire. These books ended up in St. Petersburg as part of several private collections, such as the collection of a Protestant paleographer and Biblical scholar Konstantin von Tischendorf, of the Karaite leader Avraam Firkovich, of the Archimandrite Antonin Kapustin, of the Barons Gunzburg, of a First Guild merchant Moses Aryeh Leib Friedland and of an Orientalist Professor Daniel Chwolson. The history of these collections and the motives for the collecting activity of their owners are the subject of this article.
The 3rd International Academic Conference “The Written Heritage of the Orient” dedicated to the 140th anniversary of B.Ya. Vladimirtsov (1884–1931) will take place at the IOM RAS on April 22–24. The conference program is now available.