About
Collections of books, periodicals, manuscripts, photographs, engravings, and other materials in each library form a unique part of the cultural memory of humankind. Organizing access to these resources, introducing them into scholarly circulation, studying them, and promoting their significance are urgent and essential tasks for every library.
The holdings of Odesa National Scientific Library include more than 200,000 rare documents. In particular, the Department of Rare Books and Manuscripts houses a large collection of domestic and foreign engravings from the 16th to the 20th centuries. This collection contains over 600 pieces of original and reproduction engravings in the form of prints on separate sheets. Among them is an especially important group—original works depicting views of old Odesa. The ONSL collection features examples created using various engraving techniques, including woodcut, etching, mezzotint, and lithography.
The appeal of engraving as an art form lies in the fact that each print is an independent, original work of art.
The attribution of engravings is a complex, meticulous, and important task. In many libraries and museums (not only in Ukraine), such works have long remained overlooked. However, in recent decades, interest in this subject has been growing rapidly: scholarly catalogs of museum engraving collections have been published, and major libraries have begun studying and presenting their holdings.
Our library already has experience in this field. In 1995, together with the Odesa Historical and Local History Museum, it prepared the catalog "Old Odessa in Graphic Works. Since then, the library staff has carried out the attribution of many engravings that previously lacked source data, identifying their origins, subjects—including Odessa-related themes—and other details.
Amid the renewed interest in engraving, the work of describing and cataloging the collection has become especially relevant. The publication of engraving images will help present Ukraine’s cultural heritage to the global cultural community and support its integration into the European cultural space.
The project "The Old Engraving – Cultural Heritage of Ukraine” is being carried out with the assistance of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
Read more:
The old engravings in the collection of Odesa National Scientific Library: exhibition catalog / Odesa National Scientific library. – Kyiv; Odesa : Mystetstvo, 2018. – 64 p., 49 engravings.
Western European engraving from the XVI–XVII centuries : from the Collection of Odesa National Scientific Library / Odesa Nat. Sci. Libr. ; comp. and auth. of the text L.V. Izhyk; sci.consultant I.Yu. Glebova; introd. and chief ed.I.O. Biriukova; ed.: N.G. Maidanyuk, I.S. Shelestovych; transl. and text editing J.O. Kosolap, N.M. Dyba. – Odesa, 2021. – 152 p., 65 engravings. – Ukr., Engl.
Western European engraving from the XVIII century. France : Catalog : from the Collection of Odesa National Scientific Library / Odesa Nat. Sci. Libr. ; comp. and auth. of the text L.V. Izhyk; sci. consultant I.Y. Glebova; responsible for edition I.O. Biriukova; ed.: N.G. Maidaniuk, I.S. Shelestovych; English transl. and text editing J.O. Kosolap, N.M. Dyba. – Odesa, 2024. – 164 p., 72 engravings. – Ukr., Engl.
Western European engravings from the XVIII century. Germany : Catalog : from the Collection of Odesa National Scientific Library / Odesa Nat. Sci. Libr. ; comp. and auth. of the text L.V. Izhyk; sci. consultant I.Y. Glebova; responsible for edition I.O. Biriukova; ed.: N.G. Maidaniuk, I.S. Shelestovych; English transl. and text editing J.O. Kosolap, N.M. Dyba. – Odesa, 2025. – 116 p., 49 engravings. – Ukr., Engl.