BOOKS FROM THE SERGE LIFAR’S COLLECTION IN THE FUND OF THE VERNADSKY NATIONAL LIBRARY OF UKRAINE

The publication presents information about rarities from the collection of prominent Ukrainian and French artist, collector and bibliophile Serge Lifar (1905–1986) in the fund of the Department of early printed and rare books of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine (VNLU). Dancer, choreographer, artist S. Lifar has been collecting personal documents, posters, cultural objects, books, various souvenirs, etc. for decades. He wanted to donate items from his personal collection as a gift to his hometown of Kyiv. In the 1990s and 2000s, parts of his collections and personal belongings were transferred to several Kyiv institutions. Rarities from his book collection came to the VNLU as part of the collection of Baron Eduard Falz-Fein, who bought part of his library at auction in Monte Carlo and donated it to the VNLU in 1981. S. Lifar’s books in the collection of E. Falz-Fein are singled out with the help of his proprietary marks: signets, paper stickers, autographs, gift inscriptions, etc. They date from the 17th – early 20th c. Among them predominate Russian-language editions of the 18th‑19th c. Widely represented editions of works by Russian and Ukrainian writers: O. Pushkin, V. Zhukovsky, A. Fet, M. Lermontov, I. Krylov, G. Derzhavin, M. Gogol, P. Kulish, and others. S. Lifar also collected various artistic lithographic albums, large-format editions with portraits, drawings, maps, etc. Essays on Russian imperial history, geography, descriptions of places, and collections of decrees are also contained in the collection. The church theme is represented by several copies of old prints in different languages and fonts. Cyrillic liturgical editions are also available in the collection. Several editions of the Bible in Old Slavonic and Dutch occupy a proper place in the collection. The publication presents the features of individual copies of the collection. It is concluded that the book collection of S. Lifar is able to inform the inquisitive reader about new facets of the personality of its former owner. Scattered across various institutions and even countries, it is still waiting for its researchers. The information is supplemented by a list with a brief descriptions and current shelf numbers.

A History of the Ottoman Fez before Mahmud II (ca. 1600–1800)

The history of the Ottoman fez is usually told with the nineteenth century as a point of departure. In the 1820s and 1830s, the reforms initiated by Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) elevated the red felt cap to the rank of official headgear of the Ottoman empire. But little is known about its history prior to its adoption by the state: where did the fez come from and how did it become so prevalent in the Ottoman empire? This essay examines the global history of the fez in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Taking Mahmud II’s reforms as an endpoint, it examines the process by which the headgear first came to be both culturally visible and commercially available in the Ottoman realm. Three aspects of this history are considered: the trans-imperial history of the fez as a commercial commodity, its cultural reception in the Ottoman world, and the establishment of a community of Tunisian fez merchants in early modern Istanbul.

Reorienting Japanese Studies with Views from the Nan’yō

This paper describes how Japanese studies can expand its relevance, approached from my perspective as a Philippine postcolonial historian. In the course of my research on the Japanese locals of Davao and Guam, Japanese studies has been essential. Japanese imperial history has provided me with a regional perspective that transcends the limits of Philippine national historiography and has given me access to source materials about the localities under study. As I became invested in Japanese studies, I realised that Philippine historiography has much to contribute back. A Philippine perspective can question the limits of the concept of who is Japanese, particularly in the case of Filipino-Japanese and CHamoru-Japanese mestizos. Moreover, Japanese historiography, which is still in many cases limited to the archives, may source alternative approaches or methodologies from its Philippine postcolonial counterpart, which has for decades been experimenting with methods of writing more inclusive national histories. More broadly, by conversing with specialists of areas with which Japan has been historically connected, I suggest that Japan scholars can not only extend Japanese studies’ relevance beyond its own field but also infuse it with new ideas and approaches.

The French Revolution and the New Spatial Format for Empire

Both global history and the new imperial history identify an emerging convergence of spatial formats, practices, and knowledge for organizing societies during the nineteenth century, though each emphasizes different competitive formats: the territorializing nation-state and the enduring empire. Rather than contrasting empire and nation-state, this article takes their combination seriously through the example of the respatialization of the French Empire during the Revolution and the reorganization of domestic territory into departments. The history of departmentalization underscores the emerging and changing interrelationships between nation and empire. The territorialization of metropolitan France, which developed out of imperial and transregional exchanges, was emblematic of the new type of empire that became a prevailing model for societal organization in the nineteenth century: the nation-state with imperial extensions. L'histoire globale et la nouvelle histoire impériale ont toutes deux signalé l’émergence d'une convergence des formats spatiaux, des pratiques et des savoirs tout au long du dix-neuvième siècle, mais chacun de ces deux champs de recherche insiste sur des formats distincts et rivaux pour organiser les sociétés : l'Etat-nation en voie de territorialisation, d'une part, et l'empire qui perdure, d'autre part. En effet, plutôt que d'opposer l'empire à l'Etat-nation, cet article prend au sérieux leur conjonction en examinant à nouveaux frais la respatialisation de l'empire français pendant la Révolution et la réorganisation du territoire national en départements. L'histoire de la départementalisation met ainsi en évidence l’émergence et le développement des relations mutuelles entre nation et empire. La territorialisation de la France métropolitaine, qui se développa à la faveur d’échanges impériaux et transrégionaux, fut caractéristique du nouveau type d'empire qui devint un modèle dominant d'organisation des sociétés au dix-neuvième siècle : celui de l'Etat-nation pourvu de prolongements impériaux.

The History of Afghanistan as Global History

Faiz Ahmed's Afghanistan Rising enters several historical subfields through a textured study of Afghanistan's modern history. This introduction to the kitabkhana offers a snapshot of these contributions—and their limits—through the lens of recent developments in imperial history, legal history, and global history.