An exhibition of rare editions and restored books was opened at the Library of the Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University. The rarest editions are exhibited, including an incunabulum printed in Lübeck in 1484; the book printed in Amsterdam in 1526 – conversations of a famous Dutch humanist, Erasmus of Rotterdam; the first Georgian printed book – Georgian Alphabet with Prayers printed in Rome in 1629; the first book printed in Georgia – a Gospel printed in 1709 in the printing house of King Vakhtang VI; The Knight in the Panthers Skin printed in 1712 in the printing house of King Vakhtang VI; the first Georgian magazine Tsiskari published in 1852; secular and ecclesiastical books printed in the printing houses of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Sachkhere; a Gospel printed in Bakar Batonishvili’s printing house in Moscow in 1739, etc.
Director of the TSU Library Zurab Gaiparashvili said that “TSU has one of the oldest and richest libraries in the Caucasus both in terms of number of books and their diversity. The exhibition presents only a small part of the treasure kept in depositories. Therefore, a new department of rare editions (book museum) was created at the library in order to study and periodically exhibit unique editions kept in the fund.”
By exhibiting rare editions and restored books the TSU Library joined the events planned in frames of Library Week. The exhibition will last for a month.
