Before our eyes, old housing in old Petersburg is going to the oblivion. This is the fourth, expanded and revised edition—a попытка to create a kind of monument not to ceremonial, but to everyday Petersburg.
Е.Д. Юхньова’s book is dedicated to one of the most interesting aspects of life in old Petersburg—its income houses. The author recreates the atmosphere of everyday life in luxurious “landlord” apartments in the smallest details: boudoirs, studies, living rooms, nurseries and children’s rooms, bachelors’ garrets, small apartments of officials, as well as the hopeless existence of tiny rooms, corners, attics, and basements. You will read everything about the architecture, finishing, layout, and interiors of income houses—from modest wooden five-room structures to massive stone buildings of the early 20th century. You’ll learn how people lived without plumbing, sewerage, steam heating, electricity, and other household comforts brought by technological progress, and you’ll see a realistic picture of life in a Petersburg income house.