ROLE OF LUBOK BOOKS PUBLISHERS IN EMERGENCE OF UKRAINIAN MASS CULTURE AT BEGINNING OF 20th CENTURY

Abstract

The goal of the research. The article reveals how Ukrainian mass culture originated based on changes in the publishing and entrepreneurial practices of lubok books publishers. Methodology. The study is based on analysis of the repertoire of Ukrainian-language lubok books. Scientific novelty. Two types of publications were identified, namely songbooks and repertoire collections in respect to which traditional practices of publications creation and distribution were being transformed in the context of mass culture. It has been proved by historical and bibliographical material that both Ukrainian and European popular literature grew on the basis of folk books (in our version — lubok books) that represented repertoire of national songs and theatrical works. Conclusions. The pursuit of commercial success in Ukrainianlanguage publishing sector has led to transformational processes in production of lubok-style songbooks and repertoire collections. Lubok books publishers grabbed the opportunities provided by loopholes in the Russian legislation pertaining to Ukrainian-language songs and theatrical heritage and tried to meet the cultural demand of numerous uneducated grassroot urban readers of the new era. Offering conventional lubok-style typography, they distributed a new literary product focused on needs of people of the industrial age. Firstly, their new editions contained the then modern light reading works like satirical, cabaret and love songs, musicals, vaudevilles, etc; secondly, they became personalized and represented either authors or author’s selection of folklore material; thirdly, they served primarily urban social groups (as evidenced by contents and costs of publications) and through those groups they also served rural population. Thereby differences between cultures of various social estates were being erased, and Ukrainian language as well as the national content of publications were being focused on common values and interests. Signs of lubok book transformation include preservation of lubok-style typography of newly created works, new pricing policy meant for urban consumers, publications format and stationary instead of peddler-type forms of distribution of them. The process evolved in both Naddnipianska Ukraine and Western Ukrainian territories, albeit with varying intensity.