Monuments of book culture: The restored Bible of the first printer Ivan Fyodorov put in Tver

The exhibition, which presents a unique monument of the Russian literacy of the XVI century – the Ostrog Bible, published by the first printer Ivan Fyodorov in 1581, opened on June 27 in Tver.

The Bible was received to the museum in 1998 in a very poor condition. Dilapidated paper with multiple losses was struck by mildew; sheets crumbled or fell out of the unit. The book was savagely cut and bound in leatherette.

The monument has been preserved: at that time in Tver there were no possibilities of restoration. The conservation saved it from further destruction. In this form the book has been kept in the museum for 14 years.

In August 2012 the Ostrog Bible was finally transferred to the restoration in the research department of conservation and restoration of the book of the M. I. Rudomino All-Russian State Library for Foreign Literature. The works were funded by the Committee for Culture of the Tver region. Masters gave a rarity the second life. In May 2013 the book came back to the Tver Museum.

In Tver it is the only example of the complete printed Slavonic Bible.