Bibliophile Peeter Tulviste - Children’s books

Children’s books are a very popular collecting area among bibliophiles. The books are often richly illustrated, yet old children’s books are rarely found in good condition, as they tend to be read to pieces. Children’s book series published before the Second World War are particularly sought after. The publishing house Loodus released several children’s series designed by Richard Kivit, including Rõõmus raamat, Kuldne kodu, Targad tähed, and Looduse lasteraamat, in which many illustrations are by Helmut Valtman.

Peeter Tulviste’s collection includes a wide selection of these children’s books, but he also had a special interest in specific authors and aimed to gather complete sets of their works. As a result, his collection contains four children’s books by Karl August Hindrey, all illustrated by the author. These were so popular in their day that it is almost impossible to find copies in good condition today. Tulviste’s copies have been restored and given a new lease of life. Another author of particular importance to him was Albert Kivikas. Probably this is why the fairy tale Nõuandja, designed and illustrated by August Roosileht, is on his shelf.

Children’s books over a hundred years old – whether translations or works by Estonian authors – are always rare. Two such books are displayed in the exhibition: Richard Eichelmann’s Õitsew noorus-aeg: raamat suurematele lastele (1910) and a translated book of stories by Wilhelm Hey (1895).

Nostalgia can play a role in book collecting – works read in childhood often hold a special place and invite us to buy them later. Thus, Tulviste’s shelves include a large selection of children’s books published after the war. In several cases, the motivation for buying may have been the caricatured, hollow patriotism used in the books to shape young minds. One such book on display is Agnia Barto’s Ma elan Moskvas.

Find out more about the exhibition here.