“Indispensable Reference Book”: Russian Calendars or Monthbooks of the 18th Century from the Collection of the Russian State Library Book Museum

For a modern user, a calendar is usually a reference table that lists all the days of the year in sequential order, dividing them into months and weeks, and highlighting weekends and holidays with a special color. People of the 18th century gave the calendar similar definitions, but its functions were much broader: the calendar became a desk book, fulfilled the functions of a notebook, an individual for each family home directory — for this purpose in the copies, even at the stage of conclusion in the cover or binding, blank sheets were bound to keep family and household records. Throughout most of the 18th century, the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg had the exclusive right to issue calendars, and the calendars, along with other academic publications, were subject to state and church control, as they contained current information about persons serving at the court and about the highest Russian officialdom. The Russian State Library as part of the collection of the Research Department of Rare Books (Museum of Books) holds a representative collection of calendars and monthbooks of the 18th century, which makes it possible to get acquainted with the repertoire of this type of publications. The present study examines the subjects and readers’ address of calendars or monthbooks of the 18th century, reveals the content of the “Calendar or Monthbook for the summer from the Nativity of Christ...”, court, historical, geographical, economic, travel, church, “fortune-telling” calendars on the example of copies from the collection of the Book Museum.

The calendar as a type of publishing reacted sensitively to the changes that took place in society and in the book business in different historical periods, tried to record the information that seemed important to contemporaries, helped owners to structure their lives and the lives of their families, their homes and households. Calendars had their readers and admirers. It is in the calendar that one finds information that has not passed the test of time, but is so necessary to reconstruct the history of everyday life of a particular era.

1. Sankt-Peterburgskii kalendar’ na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1769... [St. Petersburg Calendar for the Summer of Christmas 1769...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1768, 126 p.

2. Kondakov I.P. et al. (eds.) Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi pechati XVIII veka. 1725—1800: v 5 t. [Union Catalogue of Russian Civil Books of the 18th Century. 1725—1800: in 5 volumes]. Moscow, 1966, vol. 4, 288 p.

3. Arutyunyan V.G. From the History of the Address Calendar (1801—1825), Rumyantsevskie chteniya: materialy Mezhdunarodnoi nauchnoi konferentsii (10—12 aprelya 2007 g.) [Rumyantsev Readings: Proceedings of the International Scientific Conference (April 10—12, 2007)]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2007, pp. 13—19 (in Russ.).

4. Panchenko E.Z. Calendars and Their Owners: Merchant, Cornet, Young Lady and Others, Mikhailovskaya pushkiniana. Vyp. 61: “...I kalendar’ os’mogo goda...”: materialy nauchno-prakticheskikh chtenii “Biblioteka v usad’be” (24—28 aprelya 2013 g.) i nauchnoi konferentsii “Muzei. Restavrator. Restavratsiya” (17—19 iyulya 2013 g.) [Mikhailovskaya Pushkiniana. Issue 61: “...And the calendar of the eighth year...”: Proceedings of the Scientific and Practical Readings “Library in the Estate” (April 24—28, 2013) and the Scientific Conference “Museum. Restorer. Restoration” (July 17—19, 2013)]. Mikhailovskoe, Pushkinskii Zapovednik Publ., 2013, pp. 92—103 (in Russ.).

5. Griboedov A.S. Gore ot uma: komediya v chetyrekh deistviyakh v stikhakh [Woe from Wit: A Comedy in Four Acts in Verse]. Moscow, Pashkov Dom Publ., 2022, 172 p.

6. Sanktpeterburgskii kalendar’ na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova: 1766... [St. Petersburg Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ: 1766]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1765, 136 p., inv. 18916, 1767, 118 p., inv. 18918.

7. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1783... [Monthbook for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1783...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1782, 152 p., inv. 21570.

8. Sanktpeterburgskii kalendar’ na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1762... [St. Petersburg Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ: 1762...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1761, 120 p., inv. 18868.

9. Franklin S. Russkaya grafosfera. 1450—1850 [The Russian Graphosphere. 1450—1850]. St. Petersburg, OOO “Dmitrii Bulanin” Publ., 2020, 568 p.

10. Karpova I.L. Address Calendars of the 18th Century in the Collection of the Russian State Library, Mikhailovskaya pushkiniana. Vyp. 61: “...I kalendar’ os’mogo goda...”: materialy nauchno-prakticheskikh chtenii “Biblioteka v usad’be” (24—28 aprelya 2013 g.) i nauchnoi konferentsii “Muzei. Restavrator. Restavratsiya” (17—19 iyulya 2013 g.) [Mikhailovskaya Pushkiniana. Issue 61: “...And the calendar of the eighth year...”: Proceedings of the Scientific and Practical Readings “Library in the Estate” (April 24—28, 2013) and the Scientific Conference “Museum. Restorer. Restoration” (July 17—19, 2013)]. Mikhailovskoe, Pushkinskii Zapovednik Publ., 2013, pp. 86—91 (in Russ.).

11. Katsprzhak E.I. Istoriya pis’mennosti i knigi [History of Writing and the Book]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1955, 356 p.

12. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1770... [Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1770...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1769, 120 p., inv. 18920.

13. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1772... [Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1772...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1771, 124 p., inv. 18822.

14. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1778... [Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1778...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1777, 152 p., inv. 18828.

15. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1783... [Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1783...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1782, 152 p., inv. 18833.

16. Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1776... [Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1776...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1775, 132 p., inv. 18826.

17. Lotman Yu.M. Roman A.S. Pushkina “Evgenii Onegin”: Posobie dlya uchitelya. 2-e izd. [Pushkin’s Novel “Eugene Onegin”: teacher’s textbook. The 2nd edition]. Leningrad, Prosveshchenie Publ., Leningradskoe Otdelenie, 1983, 416 p. Available at: https://viewer.rsl.ru/ru/rsl01004486740?page=5&rotate=0&theme=white (accessed 02.12.2023).

18. Pridvornyi kalendar’ ili Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1770... [The Court Calendar or Monthbook for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1770...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1769, 68 p., inv. 19033.

19. Pridvornyi kalendar’ ili Mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1772... [The Court Calendar or Monthbook for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1772...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1771, 68 p., inv. 19035.

20. Pridvornyi mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1783... [The Court Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1783...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1782, 183 p., inv. 19046.

21. Pridvornyi mesyatseslov na leto ot Rozhdestva Khristova 1784... [The Court Calendar for the Summer from the Nativity of Christ 1784...]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1783, 201 p., inv. 19068.

22. Pushkin A.S. Istoricheskie zametki: istoricheskaya proza: zametki [The Historical Notes: Historical Prose: Notes]. Leningrad, Lenizdat Publ., 1984, 527 p.

23. Kalendar’ ili Mesyatseslov geograficheskii na 1769 god [Calendar or the Geographical Monthbook for 1769]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1768, 48 p., inv. 19137.

24. Geograficheskii mesyatseslov na 1774 god [The Geographical Calendar for 1774]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1773, 60 p., inv. 19139.

25. Istoricheskii mesyatseslov na 1774 god [The Historical Calendar for 1774]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1773, 68 p., inv. 19141.

26. Istoricheskii mesyatseslov na 1775 god [The Historical Calendar for 1775]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1774, 76 p., inv. 19142.

27. Mesyatseslov istoricheskii i geograficheskii na 1781 god [The Historical and Geographical Calendar for 1781]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1780, XX, 187 p., inv. 19149.

28. Ehkonomicheskii mesyatseslov na 1775 god [The Economic Calendar for 1775]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1774, 58 p., inv. 19527.

29. Ehkonomicheskii mesyatseslov na 1776 god [The Economic Calendar for 1776]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1775, 46 p., inv. 19528.

30. Mesyatseslov s nastavleniyami na 1779 god [The Monthbook with Instructions for 1779]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1778, 150 p., inv. 19097.

31. Mesyatseslov s nastavleniyami na 1780 god [The Monthbook with Instructions for 1780]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1779, XXII, 142 p., inv. 19106.

32. Mesyatseslov s nastavleniyami na 1786 god [The Monthbook with Instructions for 1786]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1785, XX, 51 p., inv. 19104.

33. Ehkonomicheskii mesyatseslov na 1772 god [The Economic Calendar for 1772]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1771, 84 p., inv. 21579.

34. Ternovsky M. (ed.) Kalendar’ dlya lyubitelei pchelovodstva, ili Opytnoe nastavlenie, sluzhashchee k soderzhaniyu pchel: Razpolozhennoe na kazhdyi mesyats v godu [Calendar for Beekeeping Enthusiasts, or Practical Manual of Beekeeping: Month by Month Guide]. Moscow, Senatskaya Tip., u V. Okorokova Publ., 1793, 277 p., inv. 17317.

35. Kondakov I.P. et al. (eds.) Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi pechati XVIII veka. 1725—1800: v 5 t. [Union Catalogue of Russian Civil Books of the 18th Century. 1725—1800: in 5 volumes]. Moscow, 1964, vol. 2: K—P, 516 p.

36. Ehkonomicheskii ukazatel’ ili Poryadochnoe raspolozhenie domashnikh del, kotorye chrez ves’ god vo vsyakom mesyatse, kazhdomu domostroitelyu v dome svoem ispravlyat’ nadlezhit [The Economic Guidance, or Household Chore List Everyone Should Do to Keep the House in Order Throughout the Year]. Moscow, Tipografiya A. Reshetnikova Publ., 1790, XXII, 174 p., inv. 7323, Moscow, Vol’naya Tipografiya A. Reshetnikova, 1791, XXII,182 p., inv. MK III-871.

37. Kondakov I.P. et al. (eds.) Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi pechati XVIII veka. 1725—1800: v 5 t. [Union Catalogue of Russian Civil Books of the 18th Century. 1725—1800: in 5 volumes]. Moscow, 1966, vol. 3: R—Ya, 516 p.

38. Khozyaistvennyi derevenskii kalendar’, soderzhashchii v sebe vse potrebnye uprazhneniya v zemledelii, sadovnichestve, senokose, skotovodstve, rybnoi lovle, pchelovodstve i domashnei ehkonomii... [The Peasant Calendar for Farming, Gardening, Haymaking, Cattle Breeding, Fishing, Beekeeping and Household Management...]. Moscow, Universitetskaya Tipografiya, u Ridigera i Klaudiya Publ., 1794, part 1. 424 p., part 2, 352 p., inv. 3376, 3377.

39. Dorozhnyi kalendar’ na 1767 god, s opisaniem pochtovykh stanov v Rossiiskom gosudarstve [The Travel Calendar for 1767, with a Description of Postal Stations in the Russia]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1766, 24, 52, 16 p., inv. 19566.

40. Dorozhnyi mesyatseslov na 1773 god, s opisaniem pochtovykh stanov v Rossiiskom gosudarstve [The Travel Calendar for 1773, with a Description of Postal Stations in the Russia]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1772, 38, 64 p., inv. 19567.

41. Polnyi mesyatseslov vsekh prazdnuemykh pravoslavnoyu grekovostochnoyu tserkoviyu svyatykh, sobrannyi iz moskovskikh i kievskikh svyattsev, iz Prologa i Chet’ Minei, s priobshcheniem k nemu na kontse tolkovaniya imen po alfavitu [The Complete Monthbook of All Saints Celebrated by the Greek-Eastern Orthodox Church, Collected from the Moscow and Kiev Saints from the Prologue and Menaion, with an Appendix of the Names Interpretation in Alphabetical Order]. St. Petersburg, Imperatorskaya Akademiya Nauk Publ., 1787, 136 p., inv. 16072, 1789, 140 p., inv. 20811, 1790, 140 p., inv. 17621, 1794, 140 p., inv. 8955, 1796, 140 p., inv. 8915.

42. Lyubopytnyi mesyatseslov moskovskii i vserossiiskiya tserkvi, zaklyuchayushchii v sebe dvenadtsat’ mesyatsev, raspolozhennye po chislam Gospodskie, Bogorodichnye prazdniki i vsekh svyatykh, s ikh zhizneopisaniem, pod onymi zaklyuchayushchiesya Krestnye khody, s bytopisaniem, takzhe Torzhestva i Pominoveniya tsarskiya, s dostopamyatnym proizshestviem onykh, nakonets vo imya tekh prazdnikov, ili svyatykh nakhodyashchiesya v Rossii monastyri, s istorieyu onykh, azbuchnym poryadkom raspolozhennye. Na sei 1794 [The Interesting Moscow and All-Russian Church Twelve-Month Calendar Containing the Feasts of the Lord, the Mother of God and All the Saints with Their Hagiography, the Processions in Their Honor, as well as Descriptions of Tsar Solemnities and Commemorations and, Finally, Monasteries Named After These Feast or Saints, Located in Russia, with the History of Them, in Alphabetical Order. For 1794]. Moscow, Univ. tip., u Ridigera i Klaudiya Publ., 1794, 399 p., inv. 14983.

43. Polnyi mesyatseslov vsekh prazdnuemykh pravoslavnoyu greko-vostochnoyu tserkoviyu gospodskikh, bogorodichnykh prazdnikov i vsekh svyatykh s kratkoyu istorieyu ob onykh, takozh torzhestvennykh dnei, s dostopamyatnym proisshestviem, sobrannyi iz moskovskikh i kievskikh svyattsov, iz Prologa i Chet’-Minei, s priobshcheniem k nemu tolkovaya imen i snosheniem mezhdu soboyu chisel [The Complete Monthbook of All the Feasts of Lord and Mother of God and All the Saints Celebrated by the Orthodox Greek-Eastern Church, with Their Hagiography, as well as Solemn Days, with a Memorable Event, Collected from the Moscow and Kiev Calendars, from the Prologue and Menaion, with an Appendix of the Names Interpretation in Alphabetical Order and the Relationship Between the Numbers]. Moscow, Tip. A. Reshetnikova Publ., 1795, 200 p., inv. 6331.

44. Gorbacheva N. (ed.) Svyatye zheny: pravoslavnyi kalendar’, 2009 [Holy Wives: Orthodox Calendar, 2009]. Moscow, Izd-vo Moskovskogo Podvor’ya Svyato-Troitskoi Sergievoi Lavry, 2008, 416 p.

45. Kalinsky I.P. Tserkovno-narodnyi mesyatseslov na Rusi [Church and People’s Monthbook in Russia]. Moscow, Institut Russkoi Tsivilizatsii Publ., 2013, 372 p.

46. Lyubopytnoi, zagadchivoi, ugadchivoi i predskazchivoi mesyatseslov na 1796 god i na sleduyushchiya: Dlya molodykh krasavits... [The Interesting Monthbook of Predictions, Fortune Telling and Wise Advice for 1796 and the Following Year: For Young Beauties...]. St. Petersburg, 1796, 16, 17—160 p., inv. MK III-864.

47. Kalendar’ na 1799 god starogo tsygana, vorozhei, ugadchika. V pol’zu i uveselenie molodykh molodushek i krasnykh devushek [Calendar of an Old Gypsy, the Fortune Teller, and the Guesser for 1799. For the Benefit and Entertainment of Young Women and Girls]. St. Petersburg, Tip. Shnora Publ., 1799, 170 p., inv. 10444.

48. Kondakov I.P. et al. (eds.) Svodnyi katalog russkoi knigi grazhdanskoi pechati XVIII veka. 1725—1800: v 5 t. [Union Catalogue of Russian Civil Books of the 18th Century. 1725—1800: in 5 volumes]. Moscow, 1963—1966, vol. 1: A—I, 1963, 436 p., vol. 2: K—P, 1964, 516 p., vol. 3: R—Ya, 1966, 516 p., vol. 4, 1966, 288 p.