The coat of arms of the king of France Louis the XIVth from the cover of one of the books, printed in his printing-house.

Engravings from the edition:  B.Picart. Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde. V.1-5. Amsterdam, 1723-1733.

Etchings from the book: Piranesi G. Le Antichita Romane. Roma, 1756.

The frontispice and the title of the book: Bossuet J.-B. Discours sur l'histoire universelle. V.2. Amsterdam, 1738.

Ivan Shuvalov, one of the most educative people of his time, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna’s favorite, played an important role in Russian history. Together with M.Lomonosov he was the founder of Moscow University and the inspirer, institutor and the first president of the Fine Arts Academy in St.Petersburg. His private collection of painting, sculpture and rare books laid foundation of the museum and the library of  The Arts Academy.
We would like to aquaint the readers with Shuvalov’s book collection, granted by him to the Academy at the time of his presidentship.
“The Register” of books, signed by Shuvalov and left by him at the Academy before his departure abroad, was examined on the 6th of May, 1765, at the Council of The Imperial Arts Academy. Being abroad, Shuvalov asked the Council to pay for his collection. It was determined to pay to Shuvalov 1500 rubles for his books and engravings. So, in 1765, not long before the inauguration of The Arts Academy, Shuvalov obtained money for his invaluable collection.
The register of books and engravings, bought from Shuvalov, is kept at the Russian State Historical Archive. For the first time it was published by P.N.Petrov in “The collected materials for the history of The Imperial St.Petersburg’s Arts Academy during one hundred years of its existence”. Later many investigators of the history of The Arts Academy took notice of this document.
No doubt, Shuvalov’s collection first of all had to attract attention of the staff of the library of the Academy. In 1950-60ies a bibliographer N.E.Beloutova described rare books of the XV-XVIIIth centuries in the collection of the library. Shuvalov’s name appeares in the indexes of book owners in the catalogues of editions of the XVII-XVIIIth centuries. But not taking to notice of Petrov’s register, including 94 volumes, N.E.Beloutova included in the indexes only 51 volumes ( 16 editions ) with Shuvalov’s superexlibrises.
The articles dealing with the XVIIIth century history of the library, written by E.P.Vittenburg in 1970-1980ies, are of great importance for the further investigation of Shuvalov’s collection. Having studied the archive documents, the author gives much place to the ‘Shuvalov’s period’ in the history of the library, gives many new and important information, in particular, for the first time mentions ‘The Catalogue of the books of The Imperial Arts Academy’, worked out in 1773 by K.Golovachevsky, which made it possible to extend our notion of Shuvalov’s book collection. In spite of all mentioned editions have the references to some concrete books with indication of their publisher’s imprints, it was impossible to compose the complete impression of Shuvalov’s library and of its presence in the collections of the academic library now.
In 1994 the library of the Arts Academy was a participant of The International Congress of Bibliophils, taken place at the Russian Library of Tthe Academy of Sciences, where we demonstrated the exhibition of books from Shuvalov’s collection. There were exposed 15 editions with Shuvalov’s superexlibrises and the catalogue of this exhibition was edited.
In 1997 the international conference, devoted to the 270th anniversary of Shuvalov’s birth and the 200th anniversary of his death took place. The Academy’s library took part in this conference with the exhibition of Shuvalov’s books and acquainted the participants with the results of the last researchs. In 1998 the materials of this conference were issued.
Working on the composition of the full catalogue of Shuvalov’s book collection in the Scientific library of The Arts Academy we adressed to the mentioned kept in the archive “The Register” of Shuvalov’s books, bought in 1765, and to the catalogue by Golovachevsky of 1773.
It is necessary to say that the work with these documents is very difficult because of Russian descriptions of foreign books and the absence of publisher’s imprints. As Petrov writes, preceding his publication, “the catalogue was composed not by a bibliographer, but by a Russian sagacious clerc, even badly deciphering foreign titles”. This is why we can see here descriptions as following: “prints of the pictures of a French king”, “a collection of all antient medals”, “antient greek and roman statues”, “wall-paper of lords in London by Pine”, “different antient medals on stones”, “antient fineries of different peoples” etc. This is the only information about the books. Petrov himself in his publication tryed to make clear, what editions were in view, and to bring them into conformity with the books being in presence in the library at his time. But he could do it only partly. In some cases he could not find any variant and put the note of interrogation, sometimes indicated a wrong edition, sometimes pointed out the wrong quantity of volumes.
Golovachevsky describes books in his catalogue in almost the same way. He includes to it completely the register of books, bought from Shuvalov, which was described above, and adds to it the list of 18 items (30 volumes). Probably, Shuvalov hadn’t included these 30 volumes to his register of ouvrages and engravings, left at the Academy, by reason of their less value.
There are two editions more in the Golovachevsky’s catalogue. They have superexlibrises of Shuvalov and existed at the academic library before: they are 4-volumed “Discours sur l’Histoire Universelle” by J.-B.Bossuet (Amsterdam,1738) and “Dictionnaire iconologique” (Paris,1756), which was brought to the library by Shuvalov “not to lose the sight of the practical aim of mythology in the academic education”.
Thus, according to the existent documents, Shuvalov’s collection, given by him to the Academy, numbered 129 volumes (80 editions). We can say that now Shuvalov’s library exists fully in our collections, except of about ten volumes.
To have a notion of the value of Shuvalov’s investment to the academic library, it’s enough to say that his collection amounted about a half of the existent at the Academy books at that time, not to mention high value of the books themselves. There were mainly the illustrated ouvrages of large size of the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries in French, Italian, Latin and other european languages. At the Elizavetian time it was rather difficult to gather such a collection. Booktrade was badly developed yet, and many notable magnates of that time prefered to have their own agents for this perpose abroad, to offer the assistance of diplomatic representatives. Owing to his connections, Shuvalov had a good opportunity for that. E.R.Dashkova in her “Notes” wrote, that Shuvalov “wishing to become famous as a patron of arts ordered from France all new books... He suggested to supply me all literary novelties”. 
The owner of the luxurious baroque palace, decorated with antique sculpture, the collector of painting, a man, who was very fond of architecture, Shuvalov of course had to be very interested in books on art. No doubt, acquiring books for his private library, Shuvalov not only satisfied his personal tastes, but also kept in his mind the establishment of the main nurseling of his life - The Arts Academy. For the realisation of educational process there were necessary as theoretical treatises so descriptive appliances. Besides painting and sculpture by west-european masters, richly illustrated engraved editions served to this aim, and of course, from the very beginning of the existence of  The Arts Academy, located in Shuvalov’s palace, the students used his book collection.
Shuvalov’s library contained everything what was necessary for teaching at the Academy: albums of views and plans of west-european cities, buildings, examples of antient and west-european sculpture, works on archeology informating about the last investigations in this domain, albums of painting collections, books on numismatics, medal art, religion, history etc.
The peculiar place among Shuvalov’s collection occupies the set of editions, known as “Collection d’Estampes du Cabinet du Roy”, issued in 70-80ies of the XVIIth century at the printing-house of Louis the XIVth and added later by new engravings till the early XVIIIth century. On the whole there were edited 23 volumes of this set - in luxurious leathern bindings with the superexlibrises of Louis the XIVth. In Shuvalov’s collection there were 22 volumes, nowadays we have 20 volumes. According to the letter of Russian charge d’affaires in Paris F.D.Behteev to the vice-chancellor M.I.Vorontsov of 24th January 1757, these books were presented to Shuvalov by Louis the XV. The albums of engravings of Cabinet du Roy represent in prints the art collection of Louis the XIVth: painting, tapestries, antient and contemporary sculpture, medals. 
There are also the views of the royal palaces of Louvre and Tuilleries, Versailles, king’s victories, views of conquered cities, Alexander’s the Macedonian battles. The best engravers of that time were attracted for the edition of this “Collection”: C.Audran, J.Edelinck, S.Le Clerc, I. Silvestre, Ch. Simonneau and others. Among the reproductions of paintings we can see the works of such artists as: Titian, A.Carracci, A.Van Dyck, N.Poussin, Ch.Le Brun and others. This edition gives the perfect notion as of art and architecture at Louis’ the XIVth court so of history, costumes, mode of life, atmosphere of the court life at that time. These extremely rare folios were irreplaceable as descriptive appliances for the students of the Academy of Arts.
The greater number of books in Shuvalov’s library was devoted to antiques, being of great interest because of the beginning of expansion of classicism in Russia. First of all this is a very rare book by A.Sadeler, edited in Prague in 1606 and presenting views of Rome, Tivoli, Pozzuolo and other places of Italy with ruins of antique architecture - palaces, therms, archs, columns etc.
This is aso a solid work by a famous French scientist B.Montfaucon. It is a real encyclopedia of antique time, elucidating the questions of mythology, religion, art, mode of life and technics of antient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and other peoples.
It is necessary to mention an album of antique sculpture, composed by the father and the son Zanetti, representing the portraits of Roman imperors and their own people. 
Some editions are devoted to the newest archeologic discoveries of the antique monuments. They are a book by F.Bianchini “Del Palazzo de Cesari”, the edition of antique sculpture found during the excavations of palaces of Neron and Marius, the first volume of the 8-volumed edition on the Herculaneum antiques and other books.
The great part of Shuvalov’s library is occupyed by the books on architecture. Among them are already mentioned albums of French architecture of Louis’ the XIVth epoch, a work, devoted to the building of the palace in Caserta, the book “Genoa palaces” by P.P.Rubens, an album of the works by an architect J.M.Meissonier and other books.
Equally to descriptive materials we can find here several works on theoretical treatises and practical appliances. They are the works by B.F.Belidor “Architecture hydraulique” (Paris, 1737-1753), C.E.Briseaux “L’art de batir des Maisons de campagne” (Paris, 1743), A.C.D’Aviler “Dictionnaire d’architecture civile et hidraulique” (Paris, 1755), A.Pozzo “Prospettiva de pittori e architetti” (Roma, 1693). Of great importance for future artists was a fundamental work on general human anatomy by a Belgian anatomist A.B.Spigelii, edited in Venice in 1627.
Among the albums of museum collections there are 2-volumed edition of the Royal Dresden gallery, the collection of antique sculpture in Capitolian museum, the collection of painting of archiduc Leopold-Guillaume in Brussels, engraved after the drawings and under the leadership of D.Teniers.
A number of albums is devoted to the creative works of separate artists - the contemporaries of Shuvalov: W.Hogarth, G.Piranesi, P.Ghezzi.
Works on religion are represented by a wonderful voluminous edition “Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde” in B.Picard’s drawings and by the Bible illustrated by the same artist.
In addition to richly illustrated editions in Shuvalov’s library we can find a number of dictionaries and books of references on geography, foreign languages, agriculture and hunting, voluminous works on history. 
The investigation of Shuvalov’s book collection hasn’t come to its completion. We hope to find new archive documents and information about Shuvalov’s activity, connected with the gathering of his unique library and to discover if not the editions, not reached our time themselves, but at least to trace their further path. We would like to see Shuvalov’s book collection as an entireness, restored and provided with a due scientific catalogue.