In 1845, writer and critic V.P. Botkin (1811-1869) toured the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa. "Letters about Spain" - his letters from there, are distinguished by the brightness of descriptions of the socio-political, everyday and cultural life of the country. The volume of "Literary Monuments" is the first scientific publication of "Letters about Spain" - according to their only separate publication (St. Petersburg, 1857; Botkin's manuscripts were not preserved). In the section "Additions" on journal texts, other travel essays by Botkin are published - about Paris and Italy