In Pskov opened an exhibition for a 13-volume encyclopedia about Soviet illustrators of children's books

In the Pskov Historical and Local Lore Library named after I. I. Vasilev in the framework of the festival "Book Apple" opened an exhibition dedicated to the reference publication "Artists of children's books of the USSR". 1945-1999”. Two glass windows feature separate volumes of the encyclopedia, postcards and other artifacts revealing the history of the visual language of children's literature in the USSR. This “MK in Pskov” reported in the Centralized library system of Pskov.

Author-compiler of the reference book, art critic and honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts Sergey Chistobaev personally opened the exhibition. The encyclopedia includes 13 volumes and is the most complete collection of information about children’s book artists in the USSR who worked from 1945 to 1991, including foreign illustrators who collaborated with Soviet publishing houses.

During the 46 post-war years in the USSR, 65 thousand titles of illustrated children's books were published, not only by the capital, but also by regional and republican publishing houses. The encyclopedia contains information about 5 thousand artists and published about 300 thousand of their illustrations. Each volume weighs about 4 kg.

Sergey Chistobayev worked on the publication from 2017 to 2025, independently collecting materials, layout pages and negotiating with foreign printing houses. In the process, he has collaborated with Russian and foreign museums, educational institutions and collectors, including Princeton University.

At the opening of the exhibition, guests discussed current trends in the book industry, including the impact of artificial intelligence on illustration. The participants agreed that there will always be connoisseurs of high-quality printing and professional illustrations of a high artistic level.