English architecture books in the Vorontsovs’ Odessa library

Abstract

The article deals with a selection of books on architecture as a part of the Vorontsov collection conserved in the Scientific Library of the Odessa Mechnikov National University. The examined editions include English old printed books (classical tracts, practical manuals on construction, and ouvrages), the earliest dating 1700 as well as books and albums of engravings printed in the first half of the 19th century. The authors consider the origins and the formation of the collection which had been gathered by several generations of the noble family known both for their Anglophilia and Bibliophilia. Special attention is paid to Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov’s collaboration with architects. As a governor-general of Novorossiyskiy region, count Vorontsov largely determined the town-planning policy in the south of the Empire, at the same time being a patron of the arts and an important private customer. The authors conclude that aesthetic needs and artistic preferences of the Vorontsovs were largely shaped by the excellent publications on architecture and other plastic arts in their book collections, which were eventually embodied in the magnificent buildings, edifices and architectural ensembles they commissioned.