Posters of Knyhospilka publishing house: research problems (based on fonds of Fine Arts Department of V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to present Ukrainian posters published during the 1920s by the Knyhospilka publishing house, from the 20th century Ukrainian posters collection stored in the fonds of the Fine Arts Department of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine. The research methodology is determined by the specific features of a Ukrainian poster as a complex visual-historical source that is characterized by a combination of the general scientific principle of reliability, analytical, and synthetic methods. Art and historical analysis, comparative method and method of comparing indirect documentary evidence and facts are also involved. The scientific novelty is the introduction into public circulation of lesser-known posters of the All-Ukrainian Knyhospilka publishing house which have not been studied so far, as well as the presentation of the poster as one of the insufficiently studied visual information sources for the study of the cooperative movement in Ukraine. The article opens the little-known pages of the works of Ukrainian artists who collaborated with the Knyhospilka publishing house during the 1920s and 1930s. Conclusions. The study of the collection of Ukrainian posters of the Fine Arts Department of the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine allowed to distinguish the specific characteristics of posters of the Knyhospilka publishing house, which are determined by, firstly, the publishing house›s activities to promote the cooperative movement; secondly, involving the best artists in the production of posters. The analysis of the materials of the collection allowed to highlight the cooperation of artists of different creative arts with the Knyhospilka, and to determine that it is during that period – the most productive in the publishing house's history – they were united by the desire to learn new creative methods and to find a personal path in art.