The Rare Book of Saint-Petersburg Publishing House presented a calligraphy masterpiece: the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation

The project was presented within the framework of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy at the Academy of Arts from September 16th to September 21st, 2008.

“The Rare Book is the only Russian publishing house, specialized in handmade books manufacturing, it was founded in 1991 in St. Petersburg. The publications' circulation varies from 2 to 25 copies. The books are made on machines from the 19th century or calligraphically performed on hand-made paper. Unique samples of the best quality books are stored in the largest book collections, such as the State Hermitage Museum, The New York Public Library, and the British National Museum.

The books are decorated with engravings created by academics: Pakhomov A.A., Bogdesko I.T., Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Ljukshin Yu.K., as well as other artists in techniques of lithography, etching with the author's colouring, woodcuts, monotypes, and copperplate engravings. Book covers are made of leather, silk, metal, wood, ceramic and marble featuring precious stones made by bookbinders and restorers of the highest category. The Rare Book of Saint-Petersburg Publishing House presented the calligraphy masterpiece, the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, within the framework of the International Exhibition of Calligraphy at the Academy of Arts from September 16th to September 21st, 2008. This is a unique leather-bound edition design by Michail Kotukov. The text of the copy is executed by Pyotr Petrovich Chobitko, Presidium Chairman of the National Union of Calligraphers.

The Trojan War, Sonnets, The Tale of the Fisherman and the Fish, A Hero of Our Time, The Book of Job are among the other projects of the publishing house.

The supreme achievement of the publishing house was the Decalogue; a unique edition of the Ten Commandments. Pages of this book are made of Egyptian dark papyrus. The original text of the Ten Commandments was printed on paper, stylized of matzoth and made manually by an artist Andrey Lurie. The text is accompanied by a translation into seven languages: Greek, Church Slavonic, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Chinese and Japanese. Some of the copies are published featuring the translations into Church Slavonic, Russian, English, German, French, Spanish and Italian languages. The book cover includes matzoth cast and minted from silver patina. Pages are fastened together with a silver hinge. The Rare Book of Saint-Petersburg Publishing House will hold a number of exhibitions in the nearest future. A permanent exposition of the books released in the Publishing House is open in the foyer of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. In April 2009 the State Hermitage Museum, a permanent partner of the Publishing House, will exhibit new books.

Source: The Rare Book of Saint-Petersburg Publishing House

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