In 1935, the 400th anniversary of the Estonian book was celebrated and that year was also declared the Year of the Estonian Book. Large book exhibitions were held in both Tallinn and Tartu, and awards were given to the best publishers, printing houses, writers, and book illustrators. It is no wonder that Eduard Wiiralt, Ado Vabbe, Jaan Vahtra and Hando Mugasto were among the best designers. Exhibitions of foreign books – German, French and English – also had a strong influence. Children’s book illustrations were judged separately for the first time in 1939, with Karin Luts and Helmut Valtman receiving awards. At the 1937 Paris World’s Fair, which brought together the best of the world at the time, Hando Mugasto and Kristjan Raud received the grand prix for illustrations, and Arkadio Laigo and Nikolai Triik received the diplôme d’honneur.

Competitions for the most beautiful books in the Soviet Union are said to have gotten their idea from Estonia, the first of which took place in Moscow in 1958. The Best Designed Estonian Book Competition was organised under the leadership of the State Scientific and Technical Association of the Printing Industry and Publishing Houses of the ESSR in the same year. The jury was large every year and consisted of bureaucrats, engineering and technical personnel, printers and individual artists. Of course, ideological control played a big role in the selection. Fortunately, the proportion of artists gradually increased. Until 1987, 31 competitions were held. From 1988 to 1997, competitions were held quite irregularly and a catalogue was not always published.

In 1998, the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association took over the organisation of the competition, and the jury composition was, in contrast to the previous years, artist-centric. Since 2000, in addition to the Estonian Graphic Designers’ Association and the National Library, the jury has also included the Estonian Artists’ Association, the Association of Estonian Printmakers, the Estonian Publishers’ Association, the Estonian Academy of Arts and the Association of Estonian Printing and Packaging Industry.

During the present Year of the Estonian Book, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Estonian book, we will be showing a very small and rather subjective selection of works chosen as the best designed Estonian books from the years 1958–2024 in two exhibitions. In the first exhibition, you can view and browse books about art and older children’s books, and in the second, fiction and reference books. Since the original illustrations of children’s books are on the walls, the most beautiful earlier books intended for young children have been omitted due to lack of space.

Edith Hermann’s master’s thesis about these competitions was of great help in preparing the exhibition.

Curator Reet Mark Graphic designer Lauri Järvlepp (Bassein)

Open from 9 September to 2 November 2025

Competition "The Most Beautiful Books 1958–2024"