New Testament of Anisim Radishevsky is the second illustrated New Testament printed in Russia. It was issued in Moscow printing house ‘with the Tsar’s court’. The typographers worked a little more than a year: they started on March 30, 1605, and finished on June 29, 1606.
New Testament of Radishevsky
Creation period
1606
Dimensions
34x22 cm
Technique
Wood, leather, mill paper, letterpress printing, impression, half-running hand
Collection
Exhibition
2
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New Testament of Radishevsky
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The book appeared during the Time of Troubles: the rulers on the Russian throne changed frequently, the False Dmitry the First attempted to seize the reins, and Polish invaders threatened Russian state. Therefore, the publishers added the afterword to the text of the New Testament, in which they called for peace and silence and emphasized the purpose of their work: to extirpate pagan ungodliness and to enlighten people with the light of reasonableness.
New Testament of Radishevsky
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Two-color printing was used for the New Testament: the main text was set up in black, and certain fragments and marginal notes — in red. Each chapter started with a rectangular insert with floral ornament and figured capital letter. Separate pages carried the images of the four Evangelists: Luca, Mathew, Mark and John. The Soviet art historian Alexei Sidorov wrote about illustrations to this book:
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“They are so packed with weaving of lines, stylized fruit and cones, that they are perceived as an Oriental carpet or a silver item of fine work”.
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The printers prepared a separate plate for each illustration: they cut the mirrored engraving in wood, covered it with the dye and pressed against a sheet of paper. These forms did not survive until our time. Historians believe that they were destroyed during the Time of Troubles in 1612.
The text was set up in large semi-uncial font resembling the handwriting due to its rounded contours (“half-running hand”). The mould for each letter was casted separately, then, the page was set up on a special plate, from which the print was received. Each page had wide margins for the owner of the book to make various notes.
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New Testament of Radishevsky
The typographer Anisim Radishevsky — the founder of the first bookbinding workshop in Moscow – made the binding cover for the New Testament. The artisan decorated the leather covering the book with embossing, gilded the corners and the edge. For the book not to lose its shape and serve for longer time, the book-cover could be fastened with two clips made of leather with golden plates.
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Seven counterparts of the New Testament of Radishevsky survived until present days. They are kept in the Russian National Library, the State Museum of History, Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents, the Library of the Academy of Sciences and other state collections.
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State budgetary cultural institution Bryansk State Regional Ethnography Museum
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New Testament of Radishevsky
Creation period
1606
Dimensions
34x22 cm
Technique
Wood, leather, mill paper, letterpress printing, impression, half-running hand
Collection
Exhibition
2
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