FINDING AID TO
THE YURI GAGARIN SONG BOOK AND
COMMEMORATIVE MATCHES BOX SET,
1962-1981
Purdue University Libraries
Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections
Research Center
504 West State Street
West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2058
(765) 494-2839
http://www.lib.purdue.edu/spcol
© 2016 Purdue University Libraries. All rights reserved.
Processed by: Mary Sego and Hannah Vaughn, July 28, 2016
Descriptive Summary
Creator Information
Gagarin, Yuri Alekseyevich, 1934-1968
Title
Yuri Gagarin Song Book and Commemorative Matches
Box Set
Collection Identifier
MSP 205
Date Span
1934-1968
Abstract
This collection includes Yuri Gagarin memorabilia; a
commemorative poem and song book from Moscow
honoring cosmonaut Gagarin, Gherman Titov, Andriyan
Nikolayev, and Pavel Popovich (the first four Soviets in
space), and a commemorative box set of matches
produced upon the 20th anniversary of Gagarin’s first flight
into space.
Extent
0.45 cubic feet (1 small flat box)
Finding Aid Author
Mary Sego and Hannah Vaughn
Languages
English and Russian
Repository
Virginia Kelly Karnes Archives and Special Collections
Research Center, Purdue University Libraries
Administrative Information
Location Information:
ASC
Access Restrictions:
Collection is open for research. Due to the nature of the
material, an archivist must oversee use.
Acquisition
Information:
Purchased from Simon Beattie, April 15, 2015
Accession Number:
20150428
Preferred Citation:
MSP 205, Karnes Archives and Special Collections,
Purdue University Libraries
Copyright Notice:
Purdue University
Related Materials
Russian Archives Online:
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Information:
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http://www.russianarchives.com/gallery/gagarin/
3
Subjects and Genres
Persons
Gagarin, Yuri Alekseyevich, 1934-1968
Titov, Gherman, 1935-2000
Nikolayev, Andriyan, 1929-2004
Popovich, Pavel, 1930-2009
Organizations
Soviet Air Force
Vostok programme
Topics
Soviet Space Program
First human in space
Soviet Air Force
Vostok (Spacecraft)
Space race--Soviet Union--History--20th Century
Heroes--Soviet Union
Form and Genre Types
Artifacts
Matchbox labels--Russia
Memorabilia
Song-books, Russian
Occupations
Cosmonaut
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Biography of Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin
Yuri Gagarin was born on a collective farm, March 9, 1934 in Klushino, Russia, a
small village 100 miles west of Moscow. He was the third of four children. His father
worked as a carpenter, cabinetmaker, bricklayer and farmer. His mother was a
milkmaid.
Gagarin’s favorite subject in school was mathematics. He also studied physics and
was an avid reader. He completed six grades in secondary school before going to
trade school. The story is told of young Yuri witnessing a Russian Yak fighter plane
that made a forced landing in a field near his home. When the pilots disembarked
from the plane they wore military medals all over their uniforms, and Gagarin was
highly impressed.
After secondary school he graduated from trade school in 1951, and became a
foundry man. He continued his education at a four-year Industrial College at Saratov
and joined a flying club in his last year. He graduated in 1955.
Upon graduation from Industrial College, Gagarin was encouraged, and entered the
Soviet Air Force cadet school at Orenburg. He graduated in 1957. On his graduation
day from pilot school, in November of 1957, he married Valentina Ivanova
Goryacheva.
In 1959, Gagarin submitted his request to become a cosmonaut and was accepted.
He underwent strenuous training in physical, mental and psychological arenas. He
excelled in all. He was a likable and confident man who had a calm demeanor
according to his instructors.
Two years later, Yuri Gagarin became the first man to ascend into space. He was 27
years old. His space flight on Vostok 1 lasted 108 minutes as he circled the earth one
time. His maximum altitude was 187 miles above earth at a speed of 18,000 miles
per hour. Upon reentry into the earth’s atmosphere, Gagarin ejected and parachuted
to safety.
Upon his return to earth, he was given the title of Hero and received numerous
awards. Streets were renamed for him and monuments were raised in honor of his
space flight. He and his wife became good will ambassadors and traveled to many
countries. He never made another space flight.
Gagarin died in 1968, along with another pilot on a routine training flight in a MiG-15.
After his death, the town of Gzhatsk was renamed, Gagarin.
The Apollo 15 mission left a plaque on the moon in memory of the men, Americans
and Russians who died “leading mankind into space.”
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Source:
Actforlibraries (2016). Web. Biography Yuri Gagarin. Retrieved July 28, 2016 from
<http://www.actforlibraries.org/biography-yuri-gagarin/>
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Collection Description
Scope
The Yuri Gagarin Song Book and Commemorative Matches Box Set; (1962-1981;
0.45 cubic feet) honors Gagarin’s achievement as the first person in space. The
collection includes a commemorative poem and song book from Moscow (1962)
honoring cosmonaut Gagarin and his fellow cosmonauts; Gherman Titov, Andriyan
Nikolayev, and Pavel Popovich, the first four Soviets in space. Also included is a
commemorative box set of matches. The illustrated souvenir box (9 ¼” x 11 ½”)
contains 28 individual illustrated boxes of matches, designed by N. Senko and was
produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Gagarin’s first space flight in 1981.
Descriptive Rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Processing Information
The material is housed in an archival box.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION
1 Box Book of Verse and Commemorative Box Set of Matches, 1962-1981
Folder
1.
Book of verse; Slava nebesnym brat’iam! Stikhi i pesni o sovetskikh
kosmonavtakh [Glory to our heavenly brothers! Verse and songs of Soviet
Cosmonauts]. Izdatel’stvo «Iskusstvo». Moskva. 1962. Cover includes
photographs of Yuri Gagarin, Gherman Titov, Andriyan Nikolayev, and Pavel
Popovich (the first four Soviets in space). First edition, published the year
after Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space: ten poems (including work
by Veronika Tushnova and Vera Inber) and four songs — ‘Fourteen minutes
to liftoff’, ‘The blue planet. March of the Soviet Cosmonauts’ (written by Oleg
Sokolov - Tobolsky, a Red Army officer, and first sung by the cosmonaut
Pavel Popovich), ‘Before the long road’ by Matvey Blanter, and Cosmonauts’
by Vano Muradeli — all written in praise of cosmonauts. According to the
publication details on the final page, the book was typeset and ready to print
on August 21, 1962, less than a week after Popovich’s Vostok 4 mission had
landed back on Earth.
2.
Znaete, kakim on parnem byl ... [Do you know what sort of fellow he
was?] Minlesbymprom SSSR... Illustrated souvenir box (9 ¼” x 11 ½”),
containing 28 illustrated boxes of matches, designed by N. Senko. The title
comes from a popular song by Aleksandra Pakhmutova. Produced to mark
the 20th anniversary of Gagarin’s first space flight, 1981.
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