The materials cover the period from the end of the XIX century to the present day and have more than 20 thousand storage units. Pre-revolutionary materials show the variety of theatrical, exhibition, musical, literary life of the capital. Along with posters of outstanding productions of the Imperial theaters, there are also posters and programs of theaters that were popular in the early XX century but have not survived to our days (for example, “Nevsky Farce”, Intimate Theater, Musical Drama Theater, “Crooked Mirror” Theater and other). In the pre-revolutionary posters and programs there are names of recognized masters of world art Fyodor Chaliapin, Ivan Ershov, Matilda Kshesinskaya. The materials on the history of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the 300th anniversary of the Romanovs dynasty, events on the occasion of the coronation of Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II are of special value. In addition to the significant collection of film posters of the pre-revolutionary period, the collection also contains font movie posters and film show programs from the 1890-1910s. They give an idea of the development of the capital's film distribution from the moment of its occurrence until 1917. Among the rare ones are two film programs at 46 Nevsky Prospect, where films of the company of the Lumiere brothers were screened on May 6, 1896. These programs give an idea of the nature of the first sessions - short tapes on various subjects with breaks between acts. Nevsky Prospekt, the main cinematic street of pre-revolutionary Russia, is represented by programs of six cinemas, including the “Parisiana” cinema, which was fashionable at that time. It was renamed “October” cinema after the revolution. In the 1910s, cinema confidently conquered St. Petersburg. The collection includes cinema programs “Lux”, “Sporting Palace”, “Olympia”, “Fantasy”. Alexander Blok often went to the last one. Silent movie stars shone on the artistic horizon of Petrograd. One of the brightest stars is reminded by the program of the movie “By the Fireplace” with Vera Kholodnaya. Posters of the Scientific Cinema Association indicate that great importance was attached to the educational role of cinema. The repertoire of screenings included screen versions of literary works, popular science films on natural history. The posters of the cinema that existed in the Tsarskoye Selo City Hall are of special interest. From them you can find information about the cost of tickets for the sessions - from 45 kopecks to 1 ruble 15 kopecks and the existence of certain restrictions for visitors, as the lower ranks were ordered to take places in the choirs. The 1920s and 1930s are represented by exhibits dedicated to the diversity of the artistic searches of the masters of the Soviet theatrical, visual, and musical arts, whose activities are associated with pre-war Leningrad. Among the most interesting samples are the posters of the Exhibition of Masters of Analytical Art (Filonov’s school), posters for theatrical productions of Vsevolod Meyerhold. The collection contains a unique collection of Blockade posters, programs and invitations, including a poster for the first performance of the Seventh Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich in August 1942. Post-war materials are devoted to theatrical premieres of Leningrad, circus performances, touring performances by Leningrad artists, the activities of gardens, parks, cinemas, stadiums, exhibitions of city museums. The complexes were collected on the history of the city festivals "White Nights", "Leningrad Musical Spring", football tournaments, the Olympics-80 and events on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.
