FROM THE HISTORY OF BOOK OFFERINGS AND DEDICATIONS TO EMPRESS MARIA ALEXANDROVNA: «ALBUM OF RUSSIAN FOLK TALES AND EPICS». 1875. (FOR THE 140TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE EMPRESS'S DEATH AND FOR THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOOK'S PUBLICATION)

Aksenova Galina Vladimirovna

Empress Maria Alexandrovna, the wife of Emperor Alexander II, who received a good education, paid much attention to the issues of upbringing and education of her children, the organization of female education in Russia, and was involved in charity work. She was a bibliophile and had magnificent book collections in all her palaces. At present, there is information about the library of the Livadia Palace and about the facts of donations of books and art albums to libraries, societies and museums. «Imbued with the Russian national spirit», the empress treated folklore material with great love and read fairy tales to her children. In honor of the empress’s work, the publisher G. Hoppe, who realized the first illustrated project of folk tales and epics, dedicated it to the empress. The article describes the recognized book masterpiece «Album of Russian Folk Tales and Epics». The empress's book-collecting activities are characterized and its features are indicated.

Keywords:History of Russia, bibliology, history of culture, book publishing, codicology, book graphics, folklore, ethnography, bibliophilia, Empress Maria Alexandrovna.