On May 11, the Sofia Library presented its second thematic exhibition - "Publisher T. F. Chipev - the art of the book", dedicated to the Bulgarian publishing houses that operated until privatization in 1947. This time, the exhibits are from the "T. F. Chipev" publishing house - one of the first to establish itself on the book market in Bulgaria immediately after the Liberation. It was "T. F. Chipev" that published the first printed edition of Vazov's novel "Under the Yoke", printed in 1894. It collects all the parts that had been published until then in the "Collection of Folk Thoughts, Science and Literature" (1889 - Part I; 1890 - Part II and III). The book body is in a small format, with hard covers, and the twenty-five illustrations in it were created by the team of I. Mrkvichka, A. Mitov, A. Piotrovski and J. Oberbauer. The scenes are theatrical, pictorial, without any attempt to interpret the text, search for a frame, angle or emotionality. Ivan Vazov himself is the head of the preparation of the images. Actors from the National Theater also help, who recreate the scenes from the text. They were photographed, and later the artists redrawn the photos given to them and turned them into illustrations for the book.
Another emblematic work, again by Ivan Vazov, is the novel "New Land" and this time illustrated by Piotrovski, Oberbauer, Mitov and Mrkvichka.
One of the most important publications in the world of books that “T. F. Chipev” sells on the Bulgarian market is the magazine “Bulgarian Book”, edited by Todor Borov. It began its life in 1930, but was published in only 5 issues. This is the first specialized publication that examines the problems of book publishing in the country and publishes numerous articles and analyses of various artists, writers and activists.
The publishing house's bookstores also quickly became a symbol of the developing book business and literature as early as the 1920s. On December 23, 1928, an exhibition of children's books was organized by the Union of Children's Writers in the bookstore of "Hr. G. Danov" in Sofia, which Kalina Malina described in an article published in the newspaper "Literary Voice". The initiative for an exhibition of books is not new, but for the first time the focus is on children's literature. The exhibition presents only a part of the production of children's books in the country, without trying to provide a historical basis and connection with the books published in previous years. The publishing houses participating in this first exhibition of children's books are the Ministry of Education, "Hemus", "Al. Paskalev", "St. Atanasov" and "Chipev". Along with Bulgarian authors of fairy tales, short stories and poems such as Dora Gabe, Ran Bosilek, Jordan Stubel and Elin Pelin, world classics by Mayne Reed, Jules Verne, Mark Twain, Hector Malo ("Homeless") and Carlo Collodi ("The Adventures of Pinocchio") are also exhibited. With this first act of conscious presentation of children's books, literature and illustrations, Bulgarian book publishers are making a request for their further serious work in this direction.
Publishing House "T. F. Chipev" also develops a multifaceted donation activity. In 1931, the Sofia Library received a large number of books from the publishing house. Thus, today in the exhibition, visitors can touch authentic editions such as "Arena" by Lamar (1922) with illustrations by Ivan Milev, in which solid black contours, lines and silhouettes fill the space of the illustration and create their own rhythm of black and white, without contacting the typesetting field and the format of the work.
Other first editions include “To Chicago and Back” by Aleko Konstantinov, the monthly illustrated children’s magazine “Picture Tale”, “Treasure Island”, “Robinson Crusoe” and numerous folk tales by Bulgarian writers.
The exhibition will be on display until May 26 in the Marble Lobby of the library.
Photos and text: Milena Radeva
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