Russkii Gerkules., Russian Empire

Reproductions of 1881' Russian popular prints with explanatory text for each plate.

The origins of the Russian prints called lubki (singular lubok) appear to stretch back to the 1500s, when the art of block printing was introduced to Russia from Eastern Asia, around the same time German Hanseatic merchants brought the first printed books to Moscow. The oldest surviving lubki, according to Roatcap, were printed in Kiev (present-day Ukraine) in 1625 and depicted Orthodox religious figures and scenes. Indeed, lubki are thought by many scholars to have first gained popularity as a cheap substitute for religious icons and were used by people of the lower and middle classes to decorate the walls of homes and taverns.