Distribution of Book Products on the Right Bank and in Western Ukraine in the 16th–18th Centuries

The purpose of the research is to find out the ways and forms of book products distribution in the 16th–18th centuries on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of archival documents, published sources and study of the book business development in the Ukrainian lands. The methodology of the study is based on the use of general scientific and special methods: comparative-historical, retrospective, systemic, historical and chronological, method of modeling. The book analysis method involved the use of three approaches: studying specific book copies; studying of a certain time book repertoire; studying the book as a particular book collection element. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is that for the first time, the characteristic conditions of a book exchange and cooperation between printing centers, forms and types of book products, peculiarities of the spread and use of old prints in different regions of Ukraine, including among the population of different Christian denominations, were investigated. Attention was drawn to the fact that, despite the researchers’ recognition of the Ukrainian printing industry, there is almost no need to study the ways of Ukrainian old prints migration for the history of individual printing houses and publishing in the Ukrainian lands in general, today there are almost no such scientific intelligence. Based on available documentary data, archival materials, and scientific research, the general tendencies of books distribution on the Right Bank and in Western Ukraine in the 16th–18th centuries, as well as peculiarities distribution of book publications in Volyn, Halychyna, Bukovyna, and Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia), were revealed in detail. There are numerous examples of book products distribution in the Ukrainian lands during the study period. It is summarized that typical forms of books distribution on the Right Bank and in Western Ukraine in the sixteens-eighteens centuries are typical for most printing houses: trade in books; issuance of «examples» to the employees of the printing house, sending books, as a gift, fulfillment of orders for printing products, etc., in particular providing liturgical literature of churches in monastic works and monasteries assigned to the Lavra, fulfillment orders for printing products, providing charitable book donations to poor churches and monasteries. It is mentioned that active book exchange on the Right Bank and in Western Ukraine in the 16th–18th centuries was largely caused by the presence of close book publishing contacts and cooperation between individual printing centers. It was emphasized that the nature of the relationship based on publishing activities between the Kyiv-Pechersk and Chernihiv, Kremenets, Lviv Brotherhood, Univ, and Pochaiv printing houses testify to the joint publishing activities of the Orthodox Kyiv and Uniate Pochaiv printing houses to meet the needs of Ukrainian citizens in books in their native language