Online Bulgarian Directories at the Library of Congress

The Library of Congress has digitized historic Bulgarian telephone directories and made them available to the public through the links below.

1. Almanakh tsarstvo Bulgariia = Bulgarisches Staatsadressbuch. 1917. Leipzig: Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff & Co.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20070320002al.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20070320002al.1 (pdf; 91MB)

2. Almanakh tsarstvo Bulgariia = Bulgarisches Staatsadressbuch. 1919. Leipzig: Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff & Co.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20070320001al.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20070320001al.1 (pdf; 229MB)

These books, published by Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff, are the oldest directories for Bulgaria in the collections of the Library of Congress. In the initial section the entries are arranged alphabetically by town or city and intermingle surnames with businesses. At the beginning of each town listing are the names of town officials. The second section has the business or "yellow pages" listings. Besides having entries for individuals and businesses, the directories also have maps and advertising. The 1917 volume has several unique features such as black and white photos of the royal family, a listing of members of the National Assembly and their political party affiliations, and parallel Bulgarian and German texts for all pages. Although the 1919 volume has listings only in German, both directories have advertisements in the two languages. In addition to traditional directory listings, the volumes also offer a brief history of Bulgaria, the constitution of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, statistical data, and advice on how to compose business letters.

The publisher of the directories, Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff (1874-1958), was a Bulgarian who lived in Germany for most of his adult life. He founded a publishing house that produced, among other things, educational texts and volumes on Bulgarian culture. His works reflect his support for German-Bulgarian educational and economic cooperation. Due to his valuable contributions in this arena, the Bulgarian government appointed him first Vice-Consul and later Consul to Leipzig from 1929-1936. For more information about Parlapanoff, see the following:

Dietmar Endler. "Dr. Iwan Parlapanoff - ein Mittler zwischen Leipzig und Bulgarien," In Bulgaren in Leipzig. Damals und Heute. Leipzig: Europa-Haus Leipzig, 1999, pp. 67-70. [LC call number DD901.L548 B85 1999]

Veliko Iordanov. Laiptsig i bulgarite. Sofiia, 1938, pp. 67-68. [LC call number DD901.L59 I6]

Both Parlapanoff directories have the LC call number DR53.A5. After digitization, the original items were returned to the book stacks for permanent retention in the Library of Congress collection.

3. Telefonna kniga Sofiia. 1945. Sofiia: Glavna direktsiia na poshtite, telegrafite i telefonite.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20060714001te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20060714001te.1 (pdf; 7.6MB)

4. Telefonna kniga Sofiia = Abonnés au téléphone Sofia, Bulgarie. 1947. Sofiia: Glavna direktsiia na poshtite, telegrafite i telefonite.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20051109001mi.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20051109001mi.1 (pdf; 72MB)

The directories from 1945 and 1947 are arranged alphabetically by surname or business name. In addition, organizational headings such as "Knizharnitsi" (Bookstores) are interfiled alphabetically with all such entities listed directly under the heading. In the 1947 directory a small "yellow pages" section begins on page 291.

The Library's copies of these two telephone directories were selected for preservation treatment due to their poor physical condition. Digitized versions were produced to allow researchers free Internet access to their historical content, while preservation photocopies save the information in a physical form. The fragile original items are also being retained in the collections. LC holds this annual in print for 1945, 1947, 1952 (LC call number: HE9373.S6 B8) and 1949 (LC call number HE9361.A3 1949).

5. Telefonni abonati. Sofiia. 1949. Sofiia : Dŭrzhavna pechatnitsa.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.2013214511te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.2013214511te.1 (pdf; 18MB)

6. Telefonni abonati. Sofiia. 1952. Sofiia : Dŭrzhavna pechatnitsa.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.2013214511tp.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.2013214511tp.1 (pdf; 24.4MB)

7. Ukazatel na telefonnite abonati. Sofiia. 1956. Sofiia. Ministerstvo na poshtite, telegrafite i telefonite.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131017005te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131017005te.1 (pdf; 21.4MB)

8. Ukazatel na telefonnite abonati. Sofiia. 1959. Sofiia. Ministerstvo na poshtite, telegrafite i telefonite.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131017002te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131017002te.1 (pdf; 20.9MB)

9. Telefonen ukazatel na Sofiia. Sofiia. 1966 + supplement. Ministerstvo na transporta i sŭobshteniiata, Glavno upravlenia na sŭobshteniiata.

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20130207008te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20130207008te.1 (pdf; 34.8MB)

Supplement:
https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20130206002te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20130206002te.1 (pdf; 7.8MB)

10. Sofiia ... telefonen ukazatel = Abonnés téléphone de Sofia. 1968. Sofiia. Ministerstvo na sŭobshteniiata, DP "STTS."

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131018001te.2 (page turner version)

https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gdc/scd0001.20131018001te.1 (pdf; 44.9MB)

The Library's copies of these telephone directories were selected for preservation treatment due to their poor physical condition. Digitized versions were produced to allow researchers free Internet access to their historical content, while preservation photocopies save the information in a physical form. The fragile original items are also being retained in the collections

Note: All directories are also linked to the corresponding entry in the Library of Congress online catalog. The presentation is via "page turner" display or searchable .pdf. Searching requires the use of Cyrillic characters, but is not entirely reliable, thus results should be confirmed manually by turning to the appropriate page. The .pdf files also have bookmarks leading to each lettered section.

Questions about telephone directories from Bulgaria at the Library of Congress should be directed to Angela Cannon, [email protected].