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[PRE–EMS IDENTITY–SAVING ISOLATIONIST REFLECTIONS BY KULISH] Lysty s khutora. Lyst V. Khto takyi khutorianyn. [Letters from a Homestead. Letter V. The Homesteader’s portrait]

[Kulish, Panteleimon]

Item #2826

Saint–Petersburg: (Tipografiya Departamenta Udelov), 1862. 13 p. 15.5 x 9.5 cm. Publisher’s printed wrappers. Overall good. Rarely seen original publisher’s dark cyan wrappers preserved. The wrappers previously underwent restoration. Scattered dents, minor tear to botto them right edge of the face wrapper. Barely noticeable marginal paper loss to the face wrapper and the first leaf. Number in pencil on the rear wrapper. Foxing and a faint dampstain throughout the whole quire. Some pages bear occasional pencil underlinings of separate words and phrases; though no marginalia.

An early owner’s mark in walnut ink on the front wrapper reading: 1874 годъ № 42й [The year 1874, vol. no 42] with an illegible Cyrillic lettering, presumably a signature. From past owners it is known that the volume belonged to Hryhorii Koliada (1896–1977), a noted collector and respected early Ukrainian book printing researcher, an Ivan Fyodorov heritage specialist.

Vol. 39 of Silska Biblioteka series, vol. 5 of the independent Lysty s khutora article collection. The inner wrapper provides a list of 39 Silska Biblioteka series imprints, including the current issue and such milestones as Hamalia and Haydamaki. The rear wrapper provides thorough instructions in Ukrainian on acquiring books printed by Kulish, accompanied with an Imperial censorship approval dated 1st September, 1862.
In Ukrainian, printed in Cyrillic using the characteristic Kulishivka typeface.

Panteleimon Kulish (1819–1897) is a Ukrainian classic, who, during his prime, was as popular as Taras Schevchenko. Kulish wrote a number of historical novels, reflecting on the processes that formed Ukrainians as a nation. By the late 1840s Kulish was one of the few intellectuals to join the first Ukrainian proto– political organization Kyrylo–Mefodiivske bratstvo. Bratstvo was not welcomed by the government and Kulish had to endure a 10–year ban on his personal publications. In a decade, Kulish established an official and legal printing house in St. Petersburg in hopes of returning to his ambition of printing books purely in Ukrainian and for Ukrainians. For a brief but fruitful period of 10 years, his printing house became a nexus for the Ukrainian cultural revival movement within what is known today as Eastern Ukraine. Kulish compiled the famed 1867 Gramatka, primers and cornerstone Ukrainian periodicals such as Osnova and Khata. Still, the lack of reader’s habit, political pressure and the erupted managerial conflict became too much of a burden and the publisher went bankrupt.
The idea of such small brochures was introduced by Danylo Kamenetsky, the general manager of Kulish’ printing house. These became known as metelyk [butterfly] or semi–ephemeral editions designed to promote literacy and cultural awareness among the masses. In total, bibliographies state 32 issues appeared in 3 years: 9 in 1860, 8 in 1861, and 15 in 1862. The brochures were produced to be affordable and, according to the information on the rear wrapper, were distributed from a network of seven warehouses: St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Poltava, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Odessa and Lviv.

The circulation of this metelyk is unknown to us, but judging from known sales and similar editions it can be estimated at 500 to 1500 copies. It is recorded that some younger intellectuals distributed such “butterflies” directly at village fairs. And while the idea seemed strange, it actually was a success. A lively detailed memoir of such sales can be found in a 1862 Osnova almanach issue. The memoir vividly describes the reactions of the villagers upon encountering the books printed in Ukrainian. People were surprised to see that the dribiazki [small books] were not printed in Russian. However, in just two days a total of 75 books were sold, with primers and fairytales gaining popularity. One book was even offered as a gift (a bribe?) to a local policeman. The subsequent fair, held a couple of days later in a neighbouring village, was even more successful with people not only buying but also gathering to listen to the readings. During that second 3–day fair a remarkable quantity of 118 copies were sold. From specific Kulish bibliographies it is known that the previous four Lysty s khutora were completed and published during 1861 as articles within the already mentioned Osnova: Yuzhno–Russkij literaturno–uchyony`j vestnik (Saint– Petersbourg, ran 1861–1862). This monthly was the only Ukrainian periodical in the Malorossiya region during its era. Despite its unique position, premature hopes for public interest in intellectual Ukrainian material, limited subscriptions and censorship issues led to managerial problems and the monthly was eventually closed down.

Some research states that the present fifth Khto takyi khutorianyn never appeared in Osnova, but it actually did. All previous lysty appeared in 1861 in Osnova and as separate metelyki. This fifth issue was the last to appear during late 1861 and the only one that appeared in 1862.

In the letters, Kulish anonymously reflects on what could be called today the traditionalist values and the patriarchy as a centuries–old proven Ukrainian way of life. The rapid technical development and urbanisation were rejected as processes both unethical and foreign to Ukrainians. The first two letters focused on the Ukrainian village, khutor. Kulish romanticised the village – opposing the Russian fort-like urban life choice. The third letter was on Taras Shevchenko and Ukrainian culture. The fourth was a fable. All four were either not authored or published under a pseudonym. The present text shows no author on the title, but in the text the author himself represents himself as Pavlo Beleben of Hovtva farm. Such a stance was a deliberate mystification by Kulish, who crafted the authoritative figure of Beleben. Kulish writes the article as Beleben's answer to the self-asked question: who exactly wrote the previous four letters. The invented Beleben autobiography reflects on the “exemplary” Ukrainian farmer. Through his words, a somewhat pastoral traditionalism emerges, not as opposition to Russia, but as an opportunity to save inner peace and freedom by remaining bound to the homeland and providing essential education for the next generation. Staying true to the idea of education's importance, Kulish developed Kulishivka for his Saint Petersburg Ukrainian publications. Kulishivka, a phonetic system avoided Latinization, which the censors disallowed. The brochure is also printed using Kulishivka, and the non–Russian words provide stressed syllables for proper reading. Moreover, the coveted “Ukraine” instead of the usual Malorussia, appears on p. 11 as “Вкраiна” (modern literary Вкраїна version).
Understandably, all five letters were criticised by both the Ukrainian elite (notably, Ivan Franko) as “not enough” and by Russian intellectuals and critics as outrightly dangerous. In 1879 the whole run of Xutorskaya filosofiya i udalennaya ot sveta poe`ziya that developed ideas of local isolationism and self-sufficiency was arrested and disappeared from the public eye. Thus the proposed letter is a rare survival of Kulish’s ideals of agrarian resistance.

Reference
National bibliography of Ukraine, vol. I (1798–1903), #589.
Kyryliuk, Ye. Shevchenko – vydavets vlasnykh tvoriv. // Polihrafiia i vyd. sprava. – Vol. 10 for 1974 — pp. 10–18.
Silska biblioteka (zibrannia «metelykiv»). Uman: FOP Zhovtyi O.O., 2016.
Havrysh, A. Piat den z zhyttia X–ho studenta // Osnova — vol. IX for 1862 — P. 60–73.
Kozak Beleben. Lysty s khutora (lyst V) // Osnova. — Vol. 10–11 for 1861. Sankt–Peterburg: Typ. P. A. Kulysha – 1861. P. 122–128.
Dobrovol`skij, L. Zapreshhyonnaya kniga v Rossii 1825–1904. Arxivno–bibliograficheskie razy`skaniya. Moscow: VKP, 1962.
Scarce. According to the National bibliography, 6 copies are held across Ukrainian institutions. KVK shows a copy at BULAC, France. Additionally, WorldCat lists a copy at University College London, UK.

Price: $2,250.00