KLEPIKOV, SOKRAT ALEKSANDROVICH (1895–1978). MOSCOW

Sokrat Klepikov was a bibliophile and historian of engraving, an author of works on the history of books and watermarks on paper. After the Revolution of February 1917, he studied agrarian questions together with his cousin Aleksandr Chayanov. At the same time, he became a collector of graphic art. In 1920s–1930s he worked in the Museum of Literature, in the All-Union Book Chamber of the USSR, in the Central Archive of Ancient Acts. In 1945–1964, Klepikov worked in the Department of Rare Books of the State Lenin Library. In 1959–1964, he was a member of the editorial board of the scientific magazine The Book. Researches and Materials.

His collection, consisting mostly of folk pictures, was bequeathed to the State Museum of Literature. The correspondence between Klepikov and his cousin Aleksandr Chayanov is full of interesting information about old master prints and the markets for old master prints in Germany and Britain.