The cover illustration is from "Russia Engages the World, 1453-1825," a major exhibition at
the New York Public Library (NYPL), which places Russia in a global context, stressing its interaction with other cultures and the ex­change of ideas within its borders. The exhi­bition will remain on view through January 31, 2004. Russian "types" were a favorite sub­ject of foreign artists who visited or resided in Moscow and St. Petersburg. This colored etch­ing (from a collection of street peddlers in the capital) was the work of two such artists who lived and worked in St. Petersburg in the late
1700s, Christian Schonberg and Christian Geissler. St. Petersbrugisbe Hausierer: Crieurs
Publics de St. Petersbourg (St. Petersburg, 1794), in which the etching is published, is part of the NYPL's Spencer Collection. The original image includes a caption in Russian, German, and French identifying the peddler's occupa­tion; the caption has been cropped from the image for use on our cover. For more infor­mation on NYPL and this exhibit, visit, www.nypl.org.