The Catherine Cooke collection (CCA–CCF 54)
| A substantial collection of Russian books, journals, posters and other items from the estate of
the late Dr Catherine Cooke, Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, who had a world-wide reputation as an expert on Russian and Soviet architecture
and design, but was tragically killed in a car accident in February 2004, at the height of her powers as a researcher and teacher in her fields. Dr
Cooke bequeathed the bulk of her estate to the University Library, specifying that those of her books which the Library acquired should be kept
together as a collection. Plans are being made to digitise some of the rarer and more fragile items. The Cooke collection includes a number of rare books published in Russia in the early years of the twentieth century and particularly in the decade or so after the 1917 revolution, when debate about theories of art, architecture and broader cultural matters had yet to be stifled. Dr Cooke collected very widely, both in physical format and subject matter. Her bequest includes matchbox labels, record sleeves, lottery tickets, banknotes, etc., and she bought widely in Russian (and other) publications not only on art, architecture and design, but also in the fields of town planning and literary and cultural debate. A number of scarce literary manifestoes are included in the collection, as well as childrens books, travel guides and any other publications which caught her eye because of their typography or jacket design. A rough guide to the size of the collection is as follows: Books: 1200 Journals: 138 [but many are only single or a few issues] Maps, postcards etc: 220 Posters: 145 Return to Collections Menu by Name or by Subject |
P. Lopatin, Pervyi sovetskii metropoliten [The first Soviet Metro] (Moscow, 1934) CCC.54.396. Photographed at the Russian graphic design exhibition, St Bride Printing Library, London, February 2004. |
