500 Years of Belarusian Book Printing

MINSK, 2 March (BelTA) – In September 2017, Minsk will host an exhibition of the books printed by Francysk Skaryna as part of the celebrations of the 500 years of the Belarusian book printing, Director of Belarus’ National Library Roman Motulsky said during the press conference held in BelTA’s press center on 2 March.

“It is a very complicated project. It will give an opportunity to see the scale of the legacy of the Belarusian first book printer,” Roman Motulsky noted.

The large-scale exhibition Francysk Skaryna and His Time will showcase the original editions by Francysk Skaryna from the libraries of other countries and the original first books of other nations.

There are 520 Francysk Skaryna’s editions known in the world. Most of them are held in the collections of Russia, Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic. According to Roman Motulsky, about 50 countries have the books by the Belarusian first printer. At the moment, the Belarusian side holds talks with a number of these countries. However, it is too early to announce how many of them will partake in the forthcoming exhibition in Minsk. Though it is quite difficult to take the books from one country to another, the Belarusian side hopes that Skaryna’s legacy will be represented as wide as possible at the exhibition.

Belarus’ National Library and its partners implemented a large-scale project on publishing a 20-volume Francysk Skaryna Book Legacy: Facsimile Edition. The whole edition has already been printed; the leather dressings of the books are also close to completion. In the nearest time, the edition will be presented to the general public. The books will be donated to the institutions that contributed to the project and to the public libraries of Belarus.

The edition was presented during the 24th International Minsk Book Fair where it was awarded the Grand Prix of the 56th nationwide contest The Art of Book in the nomination Triumph.