Eminescu’s literary works and Leonard Salmen’s drawings. Research in the field of deltiology

Studying the collection of illustrated postcards from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova allows us to appreciate their documentary, artistic and museum significance. In the museum collection there are two old postcards with illustrations to the Mihai Eminescu’s works, which had been drawn by Leonard Salmen – the first illustrator of the great poet’s work. These are two pictures from a series of illustrations inspired by 98 poems: "To the star" ("La steaua") (postcard issued by the publishing house of the SOCEC et Co bookstore in Bucharest) and “In the evening on the hill” ("Sara pe deal"). Both postcards are made in sepia technique, with white margins; in the lower corner, on the image, there is the graphic artist’s signature. These postcards are part of the artistic legacy of Leonard Salmen, who created 639 illustrations for the works of M. Eminescu, some of which have several variants (“Călin. Pages of the fairy tale” (“Călin. File de poveste”) – 54 variants, “The Evening Star” (“Luceafărul”) – 34 variants of illustrations, etc.). The postcards with illustrations to the Eminescu’s works were in circulation from 1895 to the 1930s as a means of communication, especially between young people; they were distributed throughout the country and also sent abroad. For museums and collectors of postcards, the Salmen's drawings illustrating the Eminescu’s work are an exciting topic, and a special interest is to find all the old postcards of this series. Two postcards kept in the National Museum of History of Moldova contribute to the deltiological heritage conserned the Eminescu’s work, and also remind us of the work of the graphic artist Salmen, who is not well known.