Mark Rats. PEOPLE, BOOKS, AND BIBLIOPHILY

The article addresses the development of bibliophily as a special object of thought. Bibliophily is presented as activity and is juxtaposed to traditional subjects in bibliophilic and bibliology literature as people and books. Books are a kind of “transformed forms”, products of thinking and activity. The methods, means, and forms of organizing bibliophily come to the forefront.

Sergey Regirer. ON THE OCCASION OF PUBLICATION OF THE PROFESSOR MARK RATS BOOK "ON COLLECTING" [MEMOIRS]. Preface by Mark Rats, commentaries by Irina Velikodnaya

The memoirs of S.A. Regirer were not intended for publication. But they contain unique descriptions of “people and books” of the Soviet and in particular Moscow book world in the second part of the 20th century. It is a kind of encyclopedia on the subject. Among other things, the author offers his own view of a “simply” intelligent and active collector of a large private library with regard to a narrowly perceived bibliophilia (collecting of rare and valuable editions). This is not “a life for the book” but a life unthinkable without books.