The book collection is based on Alexey Bakhrushin’s theatrical library. Contemporary connoisseurs considered it the most comprehensive and significant. The collection was supplemented by libraries that belonged to Feodor Chaliapin, Maria Yermolova, Galina Ulanova, the Stanislavsky’s, and others. Currently the collection counts more than 95 thousand units; 35 thousand of them belong to the rare book collection. There are books and periodical literature about the history of theatre; plays; publications on arts and culture. The editions date from the late 18th century until today. There is also a collection of music scores. The collection of Russian theatrical editions of the 18th century is unique. Plays that were published by theatre libraries represent the repertoire of capital theatres and provide valuable material for researchers. Our museum possesses rare first editions of works by Denis Fonvizin, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Griboyedov, Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Ostrovsky, Anton Chekhov. There are such bibliographical rarities as “Russian Theatre” (1786–1794), “The Drama Vocabulary” (1787), “Theatre for the Good of the Youth” (1779–1780), a copy of “Vadim Novgorodsky”, 18th century editions of plays by foreign authors — Metastasio, Locatelli, Pratt, Bonecci. The collection of foreign editions includes rare books devoted to Lev Bakst, Sergey Dyagilev, Anna Pavlova, and Vaslav Nijinsky. The museum treasures books that belonged to leading theatre figures — Pavel Mochalov, Mikhail Shchepkin, Vera Komissarzhevskaya. There are books signed by the greatest writers, actors, directors: Alexander Ostrovsky, Aleksander Sukhovo-Kobylin, Anton Chekhov, Konstantin Stanislavsky, Alexander Tairov, Leonid Sobinov, Tommaso Salvini, Emile Verhaeren, Vsevolod Meyerhold et al.