The Rare Books stocks contain more than 6 000 volumes printed by the celebrated seventeenth-century Dutch firm run by the Elsevier family. Holland played the leading role in Western European book-printing in that period and the work of the Dutch printers was markedly international in character. The Elsevier publishing house produced not sumptuous editions but utilitarian books intended for daily reading or scholarly work. That is why, the Elsevier volumes were usually printed in a small format with simple design. These books feature clean and easy to read lettering. The Elseviers published almost all the prominent authors of the day as well as many classics of ancient Greek and Latin literature. .
The Library collection comprehensively covers all Elsevier’s activities in different periods. It includes, among other things, approx. 2,000 dissertation abstracts out of 2,500 that were ever published by the Elseviers. Almost completely, it presents two famous Elsevier series, one of which consists of the writings of ancient authors, and the so-called "Republics" - geographical and historical descriptions of various countries.
The majority of the copies in the National Library have come from the collections of bibliophiles. That is why, nearly all of them are notable for their excellent state of preservation and magnificent bindings.
Rare Books Collections
Rare Books. Brief Summary
Collections