A rare 19th-century calendar from the Belarus’ National Library Holdings is on display in conjunction with the city of Minsk's 955th birthday as part of the celebration exhibition "100 Rarities: from historical book collections to current art books".
"The North-Western Calendar for 1893" was produced in Minsk 130 years ago, in 1892, under the editorship of local historian A. Slupsky and with artwork by A. Kharlampovich.
What distinguishes the "North-Western Calendar for 1893" from the contemporary calendar? There is an obvious difference in volume. The 19th-century calendar is a full-fledged hardcover book, complete with a title page and a table of contents. There is even a brief advertisement for E. Frenkel's bookstore and library, as well as the Minsk Provincial Government Printing House.
The 1892 calendar is comparable to contemporary thematic calendars in that it includes dates for religious holidays, practical advice, recipes, etc., but the 19th-century version has a far greater subject breadth. It reflects the calendar of different faiths for the multiethnic composition of the inhabitants of the Belarusian lands: Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Jewish calendars. There were weather forecasts based on the popular Bruce calendar at that time. Additionally, programmes and policies for admittance to educational institutions, legal, agricultural, and other reference information are given, as well as time discrepancies between cities, postal information, information on railway communication and shipping businesses, and astronomical data.
A literary almanack has also been released alongside the calendar, in which you can read literary works, poetry in Belarusian, the Mogilev legend, and an article by A.I. Slupsky about the history of Minsk.
The exhibition runs in the Book Museum (room 347) until December 31, 2022.
The end date of the exhibition can be changed.
The opening hours of the exhibition corresponds to the library’s opening hours.
Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.
For more info: (+ 375 17) 293 27 22.
The article is provided by the Bibliology research department.
