Smirdin's bookstore. Smirdin's shop. See what “Smirdin, Alexander Filippovich” is in other dictionaries

* See T. Grits, V. Trenin, M. Nikitin. Literature and commerce. Bookstore A.F. Smirdina.
M.: Agraf, 2001. Edited by V.B. Shklovsky and B.M. Eikhenbaum. Series: “Literary Workshop”. c. 178-194.

** Previously, book trade took place in open spaces. In winter it was very cold in such premises, the number of buyers dropped to
minimum. In old engravings, the bookseller was often depicted with a glass of steaming tea, which they drank to warm up.

Smirdin,Alexander Filippovich, famous bookseller-publisher, b. in Moscow on January 21, 1795, died in St. Petersburg on September 16, 1857. At the age of thirteen, Smirdin became a “boy” in the bookstore of the Moscow bookseller P.A. Ilyin, and then served as a clerk in Shiryaev’s bookstore, formerly in Moscow. In 1817 he entered the service of the St. Petersburg bookseller P.A. Plavilshchikov, who showed him boundless trust and soon entrusted him with the management of all his affairs. In 1825, Plavilshchikov died. The will he left gave Smirdin the right, for his service, to buy all the goods of the bookstore, library and printing house at the price at which he wanted, but the deeply honest Smirdin did not take advantage of this right, but called all booksellers to evaluate Plavilshchikov’s property and himself appointed the price is higher than everyone else. From this time on, Smirdin’s independent bookselling and at the same time publishing activities began (his first publication was “Ivan Vyzhigin” by Bulgarin). Soon Smirdin expanded his trade, moved from Gostiny Dvor to the Blue Bridge, and then to Nevsky Prospekt, to the house of the Peter and Paul Church. At this time, he was already in close acquaintance with many modern writers, and Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Krylov and other writers were present at his housewarming celebration. In memory of this holiday, the collection “Housewarming” (1833) was published, compiled from the works of housewarming guests.

The fruit of Smirdin's long and tireless publishing activity is a long series of very diverse publications: scientific books, textbooks, works of fine literature. Smirdin gave works by Karamzin, Zhukovsky, Pushkin, Krylov and others, as well as some writers who, perhaps, would never have been published if it were not for Smirdin. In total, Smirdin published more than three million rubles. In 1834, he founded the magazine “Library for Reading,” which was the most widespread magazine of its time and marked the beginning of the so-called “thick” magazines; Smirdin's generosity in terms of fees attracted the best contemporary writers to participate in his magazine. The attitude of modern writers towards Smirdin was of the nature of spiritual friendship. Appreciating him as a well-read and educated person in many respects, almost all the famous writers of his time constantly visited him, spending whole hours in conversation with him. For his part, Smirdin, devoted to the interests of literature, treated its representatives with remarkable cordiality and did not miss an opportunity to provide them with this or that service. Every good work found a publisher in him; every budding talent could count on his support. For quite a long time, Smirdin’s publications were widely distributed and his enterprise was successful, but then his business began to falter. The reason for this was his excessive gullibility and disinterestedness in trade transactions, and most of all his extraordinary generosity in payment for literary work. Thus, he paid Pushkin “a chervonets” for each line of poetry, and for the poem “Hussar” placed in the “Library for Reading” in 1834 he paid 1,200 rubles; Smirdin paid Krylov 40,000 rubles (in banknotes) for the right to publish forty thousand copies of his fables. In the end, he lost all the capital he had accumulated and came to complete ruin. He was forced to gradually reduce and then completely stop his book trade. Burdened with heavy debts, he lost hope and resorted to the most ruinous means for himself, starting one thing or another. During this period, Smirdin began, among other things, to publish the works of Russian writers, starting with Lomonosov, Tredyakovsky, etc., in as complete a form as possible, but in the smallest possible format and in a neat font, so as to be able to sell each volume at a cheap price. The support of the government, which allowed Smirdin to organize a lottery of books in his favor, did not save him, and he was declared an insolvent debtor. He spent the last time of his life in complete poverty. After his death, St. Petersburg booksellers published a “Collection of literary articles dedicated by Russian writers to the memory of the late bookseller-publisher Alexander Filippovich Smirdin”, in favor of his family and to erect a monument on his grave. Smirdin was buried at the Volkov cemetery. In addition to the “Library for Reading”, since 1838 Smirdin published, under the editorship of Polevoy and Grech, “Son of the Fatherland”. Bibliography was Smirdin's favorite pastime. With his close assistance, Anastasevich compiled “A List of Russian Books for Reading from the Library of A. Smirdin” (1828–1832), which for a long time served as the only reference book on Russian bibliography; Until the very last days of his life, Smirdin did not stop compiling additions to this bibliography. The main merit of Smirdin, who devoted his entire life to selfless service to the book business, is to reduce the cost of books, to adequately evaluate literary works as capital, and to strengthen the strong connection between literature and bookselling. His activities played a significant role in the history of Russian education.

V. Grekov (Russian biographical dictionary. - St. Petersburg: Type. V. Demakov, 1904. - T.: Sabaneev - Smyslov. - P. 646-647)

Y. ZAKREVSKY, film director and book lover.

Portrait of A. S. Pushkin (watercolor 20.5x17 cm). 1831 Artist unknown.

Book publisher and bibliophile Alexander Fedorovich Smirdin. Portrait of the mid-19th century.

V. Gau. Portrait of Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina. 1842

The title page of the almanac "Housewarming" with the image of Smirdin's Shop, located on Nevsky Prospekt next to the Lutheran Church.

A. P. Bryullov. "Lunch on the occasion of the opening of Smirdin's new bookstore." 1832-1833.

A. P. Sapozhnikov "In the bookstore of A. F. Smirdin."

In watercolor by N. G. Chernetsov - St. Petersburg, Academy of Arts. 1826

Title page of the first issue of the magazine "Library for Reading".

About dear companions who are our light
They gave life with their companionship,
Don’t speak with sadness: they don’t exist!
But with gratitude: there were.
V. Zhukovsky

St. Petersburg, Moika Embankment, building 12. January 1837. On the second floor lies the seriously wounded Alexander Pushkin. At the bedside are doctors - Spassky and Dal, friends - Vyazemsky, Danzas, Zhukovsky, Arendt, Zagryazhskaya. In the next room are his wife and children - Pushkin did not want to disturb them. The staircase and the hallway are full of people, people of all conditions.

The dying person is tormented by pain and even more by death-bed anguish. A few minutes before his death he tried to get up. “I dreamed that I was climbing up these books and shelves with you!” Zhukovsky recalls the poet’s words. It may very well be that Pushkin was saying goodbye to his book friends as well. Didn’t finish it, didn’t finish reading it, didn’t return the books to the library... On each there is a sticker: “From the library of A. Smirdin. Those who wish to use it are welcome to subscribe and pay: for the whole year - 30 rubles, and with magazines in addition - 20 rubles. ". Pushkin was her regular, although he made fun of the owner:

No matter how you come to Smirdin,
You can't buy anything
Or you will find Senkovsky,
Or you will step on Bulgarin.

Alexander Filippovich Smirdin idolized the poet, but he laughed it off:

Smirdin got me into trouble,
The merchant has seven Fridays a week,
Its Thursday actually
There is "after the rain on Thursday."

Why did this “huckster” annoy Pushkin? Did you pay for your poems a little late? So after all, the poet was in his debt more than once.

Who is A.F. Smirdin?

He is a little older than Pushkin (born in 1795), but his childhood also passed in Moscow. He did not belong to the noble class; from the age of fifteen he served in a bookstore. The goods were motley: from “The History of Vanka Cain” and “The Tale of the English Milord” to the magazines “Drone”, “Hell Mail”, “Northern Bee”, “Useful and Pleasant”, “Both This and That”... Future writer Stendhal , finding himself together with Napoleonic army in Moscow, was amazed at the abundance of books. And Sasha Smirdin, together with his friends, had to save them from fires. I wanted to join the militia, but they didn’t take me, and the enemy had already “gone away.” In the late autumn of 1812 he headed to St. Petersburg. I had never been there before, but I knew a lot about Northern Palmyra from books and magazines.

Vasily Alekseevich Plavilshchikov (1768-1823) was then known as a venerable St. Petersburg bookseller and publisher. Together with his brother, he rented the Theater Printing House from the beginning of the 19th century, expanded trade, and created a library at the store. Lyceum student Pushkin also visited them; in one of his first poems he wrote:

Virgil, Tass with Homer,
Everyone is coming together.
Here Ozerov is with Racine,
Russo and Karamzin,
With Molière the giant
Fonvizin and Knyazhnin.
You are here, you careless lazy man,
A sincere sage,
Vanyusha Lafontaine.

Of course, Sasha Smirdin dreamed of working for Plavilshchikov. And he took him, on the recommendation of the bookseller P. Ilyin, as a knowledgeable scribe, as a clerk, and then made him the manager of the store.

“From his face, he was a constantly serious, focused person, extremely attached to his work and hardworking to the point of being ridiculous,” one of his contemporaries wrote about Smirdin. Almost all the writers, historians, and artists came to the store and the library. They were attracted not only by books, but also by an honest, courteous clerk striving for enlightenment. Krylov and Karamzin, Zhukovsky and Batyushkov, Fyodor Glinka and Karl Bryullov later became his friends. And Plavilshchikov, bequeathing his trade to the clerk, sold him the library for a small sum. True, he also left behind considerable debts: about three million rubles in banknotes had to be paid to Smirdin in order to save the bookstore near the Blue Bridge.

The year was 1823. Over Russia, “from the cold Finnish waters to the fiery Colchis,” “Pushkin’s sun” rose. From southern exile, the poet sent a poem - they called it either “The Key” or “The Fountain”. The poem was circulated in copies, and was soon published with a drawing on the title. Having received the book, Pushkin wrote to his friend Vyazemsky: “... I am beginning to respect our booksellers and think that our craft, truly, is no worse than others.”

The obvious merit of this is the publishers of the Glazunov brothers, Shiryaev and Smirdin. On the works of Derzhavin and Kapnist, on the beautifully illustrated fables of Krylov, a company stamp appeared: “Published by the support of A.F. Smirdin.” At the same time he was “enlisted in the St. Petersburg merchants.”

A kind of “Smirdin’s signature” emerged - the quality and excellent taste of the publisher. The community of writers and poets with Smirdin guaranteed that the book would quickly be sold out and the author’s work would be adequately paid. The publisher was especially generous towards Pushkin’s works: he perfectly understood the poet’s desire to live off his literary work. Smirdin was one of the first to realize the enormous importance of the poet’s work for the spiritual life of Russia. That is why he became a voluntary mediator between the “Creator” and the “People”. In 1827, for a considerable sum at that time - 20 thousand - he bought three poems from Pushkin. Pays regardless of how they are sold. He published the poems in separate books with illustrations. In "Ruslan and Lyudmila" a portrait of the poet by Orest Kiprensky appears for the first time. A little later, Smirdin published “Boris Godunov”, “Belkin’s Tales” and seven chapters of “Eugene Onegin”.

But Pushkin is far from happy with everything. He was indignant, for example, because Smirdin published O. Senkovsky and F. Bulgarin. Natalya Nikolaevna may have also influenced the poet’s relationship with the publisher later. Avdotya Panaeva in “Memoirs” (Academia publishing house, 1929) cites Smirdin’s own story about this:

"- Characteristic, sir, lady, sir. I happened to talk to her once. I came to Alexander Sergeevich for the manuscript and brought money; he made it a condition for me that I always pay in gold, because their wife does not want to take anything other than gold other money. Alexander Sergeevich says to me: “Go to her, she wants to see you herself.” I don’t dare cross the threshold, so I see a lady standing at the dressing table, and the maid is lacing her satin corset.

I called you to my place in order to announce to you that you will not receive the manuscript from me until you bring one hundred gold coins instead of fifty... Farewell!

She said all this quickly, without turning her head towards me, but looking in the mirror... I bowed, went to Alexander Sergeevich, and they told me:

There’s nothing to do, you need to please my wife, she needed to order a new ballgown.”

On the same day, Smirdin brought the required money.

Housewarming

In 1832, the Smirda “Lavka” and the library moved to Nevsky Prospekt (next to the Lutheran Church). Only for the rent of the mezzanine 12 thousand banknotes were paid. The store, luxurious for that time, was perceived by everyone as an unprecedented leap in the history of the Russian book trade.

Before the opening of the store, “Northern Bee” reported: “A.F. Smirdin, who earned the respect of all well-meaning writers with honesty in business and a noble desire for the success of literature and the love of the public..., wanted to give a decent shelter to the Russian mind and founded a bookstore like no other happened in Russia... The books of the late Plavilshchikov finally found a warm store... Our Russian literature was honored." Previously, book trade took place in the open air or in unheated rooms. Smirdin moved her “from basements to palaces.”

His attitude towards literature is all the more surprising because he himself was not a widely educated person, and was not even very strong in reading and writing. But his clerks had bibliographic knowledge, the bibliophiles Nozhevshchikov and Tsvetaev, the translator and poet Vasily Anastasevich were friends with him - with his participation, the so-called “Painting” was subsequently compiled, that is, the catalog of the Smirda collection. Four volumes of this Painting have survived to this day in the Russian Fund of the St. Petersburg Public Library.

The grand opening of the store and library took place on February 19, 1832. In the large hall, in front of massive cabinets filled with beautiful tomes, the dining table was set. About a hundred guests gathered. Then the “Northern Bee” published their names with its comment: “It was curious and funny to see here representatives of past centuries, expiring and coming; to see magazine opponents expressing feelings of respect and affection for each other, critics and criticized...” In the chairman’s place - librarian and fabulist Krylov, next to him are Zhukovsky and Pushkin, on the other side are Grech and Gogol, a little to the side is Smirdin, humbly bowing his head. This is how the artist A.P. Bryullov captured them on the sketch of the title page of the almanac “Housewarming” (1832-1833).

The venerable veteran of poetry, Count D. I. Khvostov, read poems to the owner:

The saint of Russian muses,
celebrate your anniversary,
Champagne for guests
for housewarming lei;
You are Derzhavina for us,
Karamzin from the coffin
He again appealed to immortal life.

Finally, the champagne began to foam in the glasses and a toast was made to the health of the Emperor. Then - for the owner. They also drank to his guests and friends. “Cheerfulness, frankness, wit and unconditional brotherhood animated this celebration,” Grech recalled. The cozy "Smirdin's shop" very soon became a meeting place for St. Petersburg writers - the ancestor of writers' clubs.

At the same gala dinner, it was decided to create an almanac through common efforts. They came up with a name - "Housewarming" - and asked Smirdin to head it. In addition to poems and essays, the first issue of the almanac included a dramatic opus by the historian Pogodin and part of Gogol’s “Mirgorod”. "Housewarming" was published until 1839.

Smirdin's journals

At the same time, Smirdin began publishing the magazine “Library for Reading”. He was criticized for the “variegation” of his content, but many people liked him precisely because of his diversity - the number of subscribers quickly reached five thousand.

The Smirdinsky magazine is named, perhaps unsuccessfully - “Library for Reading” (and what are libraries for if not for reading?), but its various sections: “Poems and Prose”, “Foreign Literature”, “Sciences and Arts ", "Industry and Agriculture", "Criticism", "Literary Chronicle", "Mixture" - were invariably present in all issues (at times only "Fashion" with colored pictures was added; the volume also increased: from 18 to 24 printed sheets).

Following the example of the Library and Otechestvennye Zapiski, Pushkin's and Nekrasov's Sovremennik, as well as our thick magazines, were later published.

It is unknown whether Pushkin was directly involved in Smirdin’s publishing activities, but apparently he could not do without mutual advice.

Smirdin’s most serious reform can be considered the reduction in prices for books and magazines by increasing their circulation. In 1838, A.F. Smirdin undertook the publication of works by contemporary writers - “One Hundred Russian Writers”, “so that the public could see the features of each and judge his style and characteristics.” I also had the opportunity to leaf through these three voluminous volumes, printed on high-quality paper with portraits of writers and engravings.

Even then, a true democrat, an admirer of Pushkin and Gogol, Vissarion Belinsky wrote about the new period in Russian literature, calling it “Smirdinsky”. He defended his activities from attacks by aestheticians: “There are people who claim that Mr. Smirdin killed our literature by seducing its talented representatives with profits. Is it necessary to prove that these people are malicious and hostile to any disinterested enterprise.” And as if confirming Belinsky’s thought, one of the newspapers of that time wrote: “We owe it to Smirdin that literary pursuits now provide a means of living... He is a truly honest and kind man! Our writers own his pocket like rent. ".

Smirdin's selflessness is obvious. For example, by publishing Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State,” he was able to reduce the cost of its twelve books by five times. Thanks to Smirdin, books became accessible to the class of people who needed them most. The second component of his activity is also obvious: the more people who read, the more educated the society. Smirdin put a lot of effort into publishing the collected works of those who are still close to us today - I. Bogdanovich, A. Griboyedov, M. Lermontov.

Smirdin now has competitors who are far from unselfish. One of the main ones is Adolph Plushar, who started by printing posters and announcements about entertainment in the capital, and then moved on to publishing the Encyclopedic Lexicon, which was a success. Intrigues began, which led to a quarrel between Smirdin and Plushar.

Alexander Filippovich started publishing “A Picturesque Journey through Russia”; he ordered engravings for it in London. I waited a long time for them, but for some reason I received them from Leipzig and they were very bad. In order not to go bankrupt, Smirdin organized a book lottery. However, there was not only a commercial intent in it, but also a desire to attract the population of many regions of Russia to reading. At first the lottery was successful, but by the third year thousands of tickets remained unsold. The general crisis in the book trade, caused by a sharp increase in the number of booksellers and publishers, had its effect: many random people appeared in this business. Almost the entire book industry is taking on a market-speculative character.

One way or another, Smirdin (like Plushar) went bankrupt. He wrote then: “In my old age I remained as naked as a falcon - everyone knows this.” But he managed to preserve the books with a complete bibliographic description. However, after the death of Smirdin (in 1857), and then his heirs, the Smirdin library disappeared - 50 thousand volumes! Bibliophiles of the early twentieth century tried to find her, but in vain...

The paths of books are mysterious

In 1978, a tiny note by the editor-in-chief of the Bibliophile's Almanac, Evgeniy Ivanovich Osetrov, appeared in Evening Moscow, who was on the trail of that library. He managed to find out that a book dealer named Kimel had bought it from someone cheap and sent it to Riga. He sold some to second-hand book dealers, and most of the books were sold by his heirs in the twenties of the twentieth century to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The story is almost detective, but not so unusual: books get to travel. I also traveled a lot, filming geographical films and essays in the Almanac of Film Travel. Evgeniy Ivanovich and I met and decided to write an application for a film about the fate and search for Smirdin’s library. At my studio they looked askance at the application: if only there was something about technical progress... They sent the application to the Prague film studio “Kratki Film”. There they readily agreed to the joint production and sent their representatives to sign the contract.

A literary script was written and sent to “Kratki Film”. And then it was time for filming... Fabulous hundred-towered Prague! The chimes at the Old Town Hall have been counting down time for more than five centuries. The toy rooster still crowed, and the apostles appeared in the windows, just as at the time when Pushkin admired the white nights on the distant banks of the Neva, and Smirdin hurried to his shop. And here and there, the love of books and wisdom is eternal. The alphabet created by the “Thessalonica brothers” Cyril and Methodius - those who stand in bronze on the Charles Bridge - helped unite the Slavs. And the Strahov Monastery became a treasury of Czech and other writings: books from the seventeenth, sixteenth, fourteenth, twelfth centuries!

In the Clementinum, a Dominican monastery, schools and a printing press were opened at the beginning of the 17th century. Now libraries are located here: national, music, technical. One of the largest collections of books in Slavic languages, and the main thing in it is Russian literature.

Yes, this is Smirdin’s bookplate! So here it is, the Smirda library!

No, this is only half of it,” the dear Jiri Vacek, head of the Russian sector, answers me, smiling.

Then he told how these books came to them.

We even have ancient Russian manuscripts, some published by Ivan Fedorov-Moskvitin. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, almost all of your magazines and almanacs have been sent to us. And when the Smirda library was purchased in Riga, it turned out that much was missing from it. By painting they obtained what was missing throughout Europe - this is how the Smirdinsky Foundation was formed.

There were also second copies - they were sent to Brodzyany, where our film crew decided to go. Once upon a time, the sister of Pushkin’s wife, Alexandra Goncharova, lived in Brodzyansky Castle, who became the wife of the Austrian envoy to Russia, Gustav Friesengoff. Pushkin's children and grandchildren visited the castle - they are depicted in the drawings of the family album. In the dining room there are traditional family portraits and watercolors of Natalia Goncharova, Pushkin and his friends. They appeared here already in our years: when a museum of Russian literature was created in the castle, they were brought here along with Smirda books.

It was late autumn days, the paths were covered with fallen leaves, the sun was playing in the crowns of oaks and elms. "Autumn time is a delight!" But I also remembered the poems of N. Zabolotsky:

Oh, it was not for nothing that I lived in this world!
And it’s sweet for me to strive
out of the darkness,
So that, taking me in your palm,
You, my distant descendant,
Finished what I didn't finish.

And I thought: after all, Alexander Smirdin was thinking about his descendants, doing a noble, most important thing. Customs, mores, and ideologies change, but Russian literature remains alive for us. And if you, dear reader, happen to visit the St. Petersburg Public Library, ask the Russian Fund to show the only painting portrait of A. F. Smirdin. For me, bow to his memory.

Voltaire. From the works of Mr. Voltaire, a mixture containing philosophical, moralizing, allegorical and critical articles: Translated from French: [In 2 parts Part 1]. – In St. Petersburg: Printed with express permission, 1788. - , 1-24, , 25-156 p. = s.

A.F. Smirdin expanded the bookselling business of his predecessor and began publishing. He published in large editions the works of Pushkin, Gogol, Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky and other contemporary writers, released new editions of the works of Lomonosov and Derzhavin, three collections “One Hundred Russian Writers” (1839-1845) and much more. For the first time in the Russian press, Alexander Smirdin introduced a constant full payment for author's work (he paid huge fees to famous writers). Smirdin reduced prices for books and magazines by increasing their circulation. In the history of Russian literature, the 1830s were called the Smirda period.

A major event in St. Petersburg literary life in the early 1830s. was the move of Smirdin's bookstore from Moika (near the Blue Bridge) to Nevsky Prospekt, where he placed a well-equipped store on the ground floor, and a first-class commercial library on the second floor. The library and bookstore of Alexander Filippovich Smirdin were a kind of club for famous Russian writers (Pushkin, Krylov, Zhukovsky, Vyazemsky, Gogol, Odoevsky, Yazykov, etc.). On the occasion of a housewarming party on February 19, 1832, they presented Smirdin with a gift of their works, which were published by Smirdin as the almanac “Housewarming” (Part I, 1833 and Part II, 1834).

In the early 1840s. As a result of the crisis in book publishing and the shaky financial situation, Smirdin was constantly under threat of ruin. He had to sell first the printing house, then the library; he repeatedly stopped the book trade, but nevertheless continued to publish works of Russian writers. The publisher’s last grandiose project was the release of the mass series “Complete Works of Russian Authors” (1846-1856); within its framework, he published over 70 small-format volumes of works by more than 35 Russian writers (K. N. Batyushkov, D. V. Venevitinov, A. S. Griboyedov, M. Yu. Lermontov, M. V. Lomonosov, D. I. Fonvizin and others, as well as Catherine II).

A.F. Smirdin finally went bankrupt and retired from publishing. Difficult financial circumstances and constant failures undermined Smirdin’s health. On September 16 (28), 1857, he died in poverty and oblivion.

Smirdin's library was an extensive collection of works of Russian literature. By 1832, the library had 12,036 books (in Plavilshchikov’s library in 1820 there were only 7,009). This included the libraries of V. A. Plavilshchikov, a collection of books about the theater of P. A. Plavilshchikov, brother V. A. Plavilshchikov. The collection included Russian books from the civil press of the 18th – first quarter of the 19th centuries, as well as prohibited publications.

In 1842, when Smirdin’s business fell into disrepair, his library passed to M. D. Olkhin. The library was purchased in parts by P. I. Krasheninnikov, V. P. Pechatkin, L. I. Zhebelev. Since 1847, his clerk P.I. Krasheninnikov became the owner of Smirdin’s library. Krasheninnikov, who continued Smirdin’s “Painting” and published two more additions to it (1852, 1856), brought the number of titles to 18,772. This figure characterizes the expansion of Smirdin’s library in the period from 1832 to 1842 and later, when it belonged to M. D. Olkhin and P.I. Krasheninnikov. When the latter died (1864), the library, which had increased in number, was dumped in the basements. In 1869, the widow of P.I. Krasheninnikov sold the remainder to A.A. Cherkesov, and in 1879, the surviving part of the library was purchased from Cherkesov by a second-hand bookseller from Riga, N. Kimmel.

Having purchased the library of A.F. Smirdin, N. Kimmel published a catalog of its humanitarian part, which he put into retail sale, but was still not completely sold out. Books on technology and natural science, as outdated, did not have much sales. In 1929, in order to free up storage space, the owners decided to sell the remaining books wholesale. The Slavic Library, which had recently been formed in Czechoslovakia (1924), showed interest in the surviving part of Smirdin’s library. Its task was to collect special book collections on the history and culture of the Slavic peoples. In 1932, the Slavic Library purchased Smirdin’s books and took them from Riga to Prague. From the Smirdin library, 11,262 units were included in the main composition of the Slavic Library and 5,741 units of doublets (including 647 defective) were included in the exchange fund.

Currently, the “Sm” collection (Smirdin library), according to documents, consists of 7,809 numbers (ciphers) or 12,938 books; among the last 8,938 original ones from the library of Smirdin and his successors and 4,000 who replenished the fund in accordance with the “Mural” and four additions to it. The books of the Smirdin Fund in the Slavic Library have the same numbering as in “Rospisi” and occupy 11 double-sided shelves, which is approximately 340 linear meters of bookshelves.

The importance of the Smirdin library is best evidenced by the fact that its catalog, published in 1828 on more than 800 pages, together with additions published in 1829, 1832, 1852 and 1856, has always been and remains to this day one of the main bibliographic reference books on Russian literature of previous times.

• Zakrevsky, Yu. In the footsteps of the book publisher Smirdin / Yu. Zakrevsky // Science and life. – 2004. - No. 11 // Access mode: http://lib.rus.ec/node/237055
• Kishkin, L. S. Book collection of A. F. Smirdin in Prague / L. S. Kishkin // Access mode: http://feb-web.ru/feb/pushkin/serial/v77/v77-148-.htm
• Smirdin Alexander Filippovich - http://photos.citywalls.ru/qphoto4-4506.jpg?mt=1275800780
• Bookplates and stamps of private collections in the collections of the Historical Library / State. publ. ist. b-ka Russia; comp. V. V. Kozhukhova; ed. M. D. Afanasyev. - Moscow: GPIB Publishing House, 2001. - 119 p. - P. 70.

1 Plavilshchikov Vasily Alekseevich(1768-1825) - St. Petersburg bookseller and publisher. Together with his brother, he rented the Theater Printing House from the beginning of the 19th century. He created a library at the store (1815).

In the same year, when the restructuring of the Admiralty was completed, another event occurred in St. Petersburg. Not as noticeable as the construction of an architectural monument in the center of the capital, and not only members of the august family, not only ordinary people, but also people writing, working for the glory of Russian literature, did not attach any significance to it. It’s unlikely that anyone would have imagined then that a new stage was beginning in the development of Russian culture, the name of which would be given by a modest, but efficient and honest clerk in a bookstore on the Moika embankment, 70.

Alexander Filippovich Smirdin.

In 1823, he became the owner of a bookstore and successor to the business of Vasily Alekseevich Plavilshchikov.

“Of all the booksellers of that time, the name of Plavilshchikov is distinguished by the greatest merits in the field of education,” wrote M.I. Pylyaev. “He is famous for being the founder of the first Russian reading library: before him, reading books could be obtained from booksellers not at the choice of readers, but at the will of the latter, who issued damaged or old books.” “According to contemporaries, his store represented “a quiet study of the muses, where scientists and writers gathered to make inquiries, extracts and meetings, and not tell offensive jokes and read epigrams and satires about absent people.” Almost all writers used his library without money, even after his death (1823, August 14), according to his spiritual will (1). The opening of this one of the first Russian libraries, which became truly widely accessible, was a great cultural event not only for St. Petersburg, but for all of Russia (2). In 1820, his library numbered seven thousand books (4).

The description of the books of Plavilshchikov's library (1820) with annual additions was the first experience in Russia of current bibliographic registration (3).

Plavilshchikov developed a large book publishing business in St. Petersburg. Over the course of 30 years, he published more than 300 books and periodicals (3).

In 1813, Plavilshchikov opened a bookstore next to the Public Library on Sadovaya, 18; in 1815 he moved it to Moika, 70. Here A.F. worked as his clerk. Smirdin. “...honesty, accuracy, knowledge of the matter and ability to deal with customers,” recalls a contemporary, “Smirdin gained the favor of Plavilshchikov, who made him the chief clerk and manager of the store.” And since 1823, after the death of the owner, Smirdin took over the business, accepted all the debts of Plavilshchikov and his bookstore (5).

In 1832, Smirdin and his shop moved to Nevsky (to house number 22), which then meant the same as it does today.

The shop began to be located on two floors of the left wing of the Lutheran Church of St. Peter. The new shop on Nevsky, according to contemporaries, was magnificent - a spacious bookstore on the first floor and a large, bright library hall on the second (6).

At the end of 1831, “Northern Bee” wrote: “...A.F. Smirdin wanted to give a decent shelter to the Russian mind and founded a bookstore, which had never happened in Russia. About fifty years before this there weren’t even shops for Russian books. Books were stored in basements and sold on tables, like goods from a rag aisle. The activity and mind of Novikov, unforgettable in the annals of Russian enlightenment, gave a different direction to the book trade, and bookstores were founded in Moscow and St. Petersburg on the model of ordinary shops. The late Plavilshchikov finally opened a warm store (see Note 1) and a library for reading... Finally, Mr. Smirdin confirmed the triumph of the Russian mind and, as they say, put it in the first corner: on Nevsky Prospekt, in a beautiful new building belonging to the Lutheran Church of St. Peter, in the lower housing there is a book trade in the city of Smirdin. Russian books, in rich bindings, stand proudly behind glass in mahogany cabinets, and polite clerks, guiding buyers with their bibliographic information, satisfy everyone's needs with extraordinary speed. The heart is consoled by the thought that our Russian literature has finally entered into honor and moved from the basements to the palaces. This somehow animates the writer. In the upper housing, above the store, in the vast halls, there is a reading library, the first in Russia in terms of wealth and completeness. Everything printed in Russian is with Mr. Smirdin; everything that will be published in the future worthy of attention will, without any doubt, be with Mr. Smirdin before others, or together with others. Subscriptions to all magazines are also accepted there.”

Alexander Filippovich himself “was a constantly serious man, as they say, concentrated, he was never seen laughing or even smiling, extremely attached to his work and hardworking to the point of being ridiculous. His former clerk (later a bookseller), Fyodor Vasilyevich Bazunov, said that Alexander Filippovich sometimes became very annoying to clerks and boys with his unnecessary activities. As a rule, most book dealers did not go out to their shops to trade on Sundays, but he ordered his store to be opened on Sundays as well; Of course, both clerks and boys had to appear, and when it happened that there was absolutely nothing to do in the store, he covered the piles of books lying in one corner of the store, without any purpose, moved them to another, only shaking off the dust from them first” ( 7).

Smirdin's bookstore and library became a real literary club. Writers and literature lovers gathered here, literary news was discussed, and heated debates took place.

Smirdin decided to solemnly celebrate the housewarming of his store and library on February 19, 1832 and unite the most prominent writers of the capital at the festive table. About fifty people gathered. The table was set in the large hall on the second floor. Pushkin sat down next to Krylov. On the other side of Krylov sat Zhukovsky. Opposite Pushkin were Bulgarin and Grech, the publishers of the Northern Bee. After lunch, the assembled writers decided to jointly compile the almanac “A.F.’s Housewarming.” Smirdin."

The almanac was published a year later. On its cover there was a lithograph depicting a bookshop. But the vignette depicting a festive dinner at Smirdin’s was especially interesting. The authors of the vignette are artist A.P. Bryullov and engraver S.F. Galaktionov constantly collaborated in Smirdin’s publications and knew many writers (5).

According to V.G. Belinsky, the release of “Housewarming” marked the beginning of a new period of Russian literature, which “can and should be called Smirdinsky; for A.F. Smirdin is the head and manager of this period. Everything is from him and everything is to him; he approves and encourages young and decrepit talents with the charming ringing of a walking coin; he gives direction and shows the way to these geniuses or half-geniuses, does not allow them to be lazy - in a word, he produces life and activity in our literature” (8).

The books “Housewarming” were, as it were, the prototype of the Smirda magazine “Library for Reading”, which began publishing in 1834, and largely predetermined its fate. It was the first thick magazine in Russia. Its popularity, especially in the early years, when Pushkin, Zhukovsky, Krylov, Yazykov, Baratynsky and other prominent writers were still published in it, was very high, and its circulation was unprecedented (5 and even 7 thousand). This magazine, aimed at provincial readers, played its role in the history of Russian journalism (9).

...All of the above are perhaps the most famous facts of the biography of A.F. Smirdin, their presentation wanders from book to book. There are much fewer stories in literature about the actual activities of the book publisher, and the last, difficult period of his life remains completely in the shadows. It’s as if this man remained on that solemn day at the same table with Pushkin and there was nothing else in his fate except the housewarming of the bookstore on Nevsky and the “Housewarming” almanac in almost every house where books were read...

But life is long and, alas, does not consist of only joys and victories... Although it all really began triumphantly.

“Under him, as now, there were no difficulties in publishing any useful book; each could be printed and have a sure sale,” wrote “Library for Reading” in 1857. “He offered to either print it at his expense, with the proceeds of the amount spent on publication from the sale of the book itself, or, if the book was printed, he bought the publication of it in full or in part and himself distributed it to other booksellers on unconditional credit.”

Thanks to Smirdin’s activities, St. Petersburg became the center, a kind of hegemon of the publishing industry. “...the public has formed the opinion that only St. Petersburg books are good,” noted Xenophon Polevoy. “Gradually he accustomed Russian readers to proper, beautiful publications, and writers to the confidence that every conscientious work of theirs would be rewarded at its true worth. Finally, it was so that when on the title page there were the words: publication by A. Smirdin, the book was in progress, because from this publisher one could always expect something practical, interesting, well-published” (7).

Historians admit that Smirdin’s major merit was the expansion of the book market, aimed at the broad masses of readers. Previously, the book trade was predominantly “metropolitan” (with the exception of popular literature and literature of “lackeys”) and was calculated mainly for the noble and bureaucratic strata. Smirdin increased the capacity of the reader's market at the expense of the province, addressing the local reader.

Another major reform of Smirdin was to reduce book prices by increasing circulation and giving publications a commercial character (7).

Smirdin's name is associated with the introduction of royalties into Russian literary life. Fees existed before Smirdin in the form of isolated cases, but they were not a widespread, natural phenomenon. The era of Smirdin makes this phenomenon natural and in a way “canonizes” literary royalties (7).

In continuation of his activities, Smirdin published various works worth more than ten million rubles in banknotes, paid writers for the right to publish 1,370,535 rubles of honorary remuneration. He published the works of more than 70 Russian writers (7). Among Smirdin's publications are works by Pushkin, Gogol, Zhukovsky, P.A. Vyazemsky, Baratynsky, Krylov and others.

The first two editions of Karamzin’s “History of the Russian State” were published mainly during the author’s lifetime. By the end of the 20s - the beginning of the 30s, when Smirdin’s publishing business gained strength, Karamzin’s “History ...” was no longer in abundance on the book market, and sellers took 120 and even 150 rubles for it from those who needed it. Having bought for a lot of money from Karamzin’s heirs the right to publish his 12-volume “History...” and having printed it in sufficient quantities, Smirdin began selling the new edition for 30 rubles in banknotes. “The cheapness and availability of books spread the opportunity and desire for reading, which we had never had before and could not have had, and without the assistance of the bookseller, who was beneficent for poor writers, it might not have appeared for a long time,” wrote V.T. Plaksin (9).

Business relations connected Smirdin with many writers, whom today we call classics. But in a separate line (figuratively speaking) I would like to talk about Smirdin’s relationship with Pushkin.

The poet’s first collaboration with Smirdin began in 1827, when the bookseller acquired the right to reprint “The Bakhchisarai Fountain”, and then “The Prisoner of the Caucasus”, “Ruslan and Lyudmila”. In April 1830, Pushkin instructed his friend P.A. Pletnev, on his behalf, concluded an agreement with Smirdin, according to which the rights to all the poet’s published works were ceded to him for four years. In turn, Smirdin obliged during these years, starting from May 1, 1830, to pay Pushkin 600 rubles monthly in banknotes. It was rumored in literary circles that Smirdin was paying the poet one gold piece per line. And it seemed true. When Pushkin’s “Hussar” appeared in the “Library for Reading”, Smirdin paid two thousand rubles - huge money for that time (2).

In the 1830s, Smirdin completely purchased the first edition of “Boris Godunov” and the editions of the third and fourth parts of Pushkin’s “Poems.” Smirdin published the first complete edition of Eugene Onegin and two parts of Poems and Stories.

Highly appreciating Pushkin's talent and proud to know him, Smirdin paid the poet the highest fees and played an exceptional role in the sale and popularization of his works, regardless of who published them.

Smirdin retained his good attitude towards Pushkin even after his death. In one of his letters, Turgenev reported: Smirdin said that after Pushkin’s duel he sold 40 thousand worth of his works, especially Onegin. The “noble scribe” remained a sincere admirer and active distributor of Pushkin, striving to effectively help his orphaned family. He buys Sovremennik, published for the benefit of the poet’s family, and buys from the Board of Trustees the tragedy “The Stone Guest” and the prose passage “Guests Arrived at the Dacha.” In February 1839, from the same guardianship, he accepted 1,700 unsold copies of “The History of the Pugachev Rebellion.” Smirdin also took an active part in distributing the eight-volume edition of Pushkin’s works, published by the guardianship in 1837-1838. Instead of the 1500 stipulated by the contract, he sold 1600 copies... (10).

But time passed, and after the rise, book publishing and one of its best representatives had to go through a crisis and recession, the reasons for which are not yet very clear.

The heyday of the book trade in the 1830s gave way in the early 1840s to an era of sharp decline. From that time on, the affairs of booksellers began to deteriorate, and one after another they began to go bankrupt.

In an effort to help Smirdin, St. Petersburg writers published a three-volume collection “Russian Conversation” (1841 - 1843) in his favor. The first book contained an appeal to readers to help the publisher. But the appearance of the collection did little to ease his situation.

But even in his dark days, Smirdin did not cease to be active, fighting for his favorite cause, for the right to serve the book. One of his initiatives was two book lotteries he organized in 1843 and 1844, which brought him about 150 thousand rubles, almost entirely used to pay off debts.

Things went from bad to worse for Smirdin. He had to sell his large house on Ligovka and lose his own printing house and bookbinding. In 1845, he stopped renting expensive premises in the Lutheran Church building and opened his own more modest shop in the Engelhardt house near the Kazansky Bridge. It was the last and lasted only about two years, closing forever in 1846. In 1847, Smirdin parted with his famous library, which included 12,036 titles (9).

Smirdin’s last effort to break out of the tenacious grip of the economic crisis was his publication of Russian classics in as complete a form as possible, in a small format, in a neat font and at an unheard of cheap price for that time. From 1846 to 1856, Smirdin published over 70 volumes. This publication had some success, but the proceeds were not enough to cover his debt, which reached 500 thousand rubles in banknotes (7).

At the same time, for the first time in the practice of the Russian book trade, Smirdin organized the “Office for publishing Russian classics and sending them to nonresidents,” a distant prototype of “Books by mail” (9).

At the end of 1851, the book publisher and his entire family were considered hereditary honorary citizens, but the book publisher did not have the money to receive a certificate of honorary citizenship from the heraldry. In 1852, all the books remaining with Smirdin were described at the request of creditors. And four years later, the worst thing happened, what Smirdin feared most - he was declared an insolvent debtor.

The year of Smirdin’s death - 1857 - was also the year of the 50th anniversary of his activity in the book field. St. Petersburg publishers and writers intended to commemorate the anniversary with a collection specially dedicated to him. 6 volumes were published in 1858 - 1859 and were dedicated to the memory of Smirdin. It is unknown what the income from the collection was and how it made the lives of Smirdin’s seven children easier. Some of them were in severe poverty in the 1860s (9).

...In May 1995, the St. Petersburg Gazette published an article by Gennady Azin “About Smirdin, his shop and Housewarming.” The author proposed installing a memorial plaque at house No. 22 on Nevsky Prospekt and, perhaps, “taking a swing” at the literary salon and holding his own “Housewarming Party” - for modern writers of St. Petersburg - in Smirdin’s former shop.

I don’t know whether this call was the only one or whether other publications also remembered Smirdin in connection with the 200th anniversary of his birth; The important thing is that the proposal was heard and the board was installed on house No. 22.

And now, as we pass by, we remember with kind words a man who has done so much for the development of Russian literature. And we cannot help but remember that letters to Pushkin were addressed here by those who did not know his home address: Nevsky Prospekt, 22. Smirdin’s Bookstore...

in the newspaper "Center Plus" St. Petersburg

Note 1. Previously, book trade took place in open spaces. In winter, it was very cold in such premises, the number of buyers dropped to a minimum. In old engravings, the bookseller was often depicted with a glass of steaming tea, which they drank to warm up.

Literature:

1. Pylyaev M.I. “Old Petersburg” - 1887. M., 1997; 2. Kashnitsky I. “Bookstores of Pushkin’s St. Petersburg” - “Agitator’s Notebook”, 1981, No. 30; 3. Shchukin A.N. “The most famous people of Russia”, volume 2 - Moscow, “Veche”, 1999; 4. Kann P.Ya. “Walks around St. Petersburg” - St. Petersburg, 1994; 5. Bunatyan G.G., Charnaya M.G. “Literary places of St. Petersburg. Guide" - St. Petersburg, 2005; 6. “Star Petersburg” - St. Petersburg, 2003; 7. Grits T., Trenin V., Nikitin M. “Literature and commerce. Bookstore A.F. Smirdin" - M., 2001; 8. Belinsky V.G. Collected works in three volumes - M., 1948. T.1, p. 83; 9. Kishkin L.S. “Honest, kind, simple-minded. Works and days of A.F. Smirdina" - M., 1995; 10. Kishkin L. “Noble scribe” - “Literary Russia”, June 18, 1982.