Based on the historical and bibliological analysis of chemistry textbooks, intended for general education institutions, the evolution of their materialization, essential both for reconstructing the history of publishing and improving current practice of school textbooks creation, was studied. The typological features of a school textbook, as the publication where basics of a science are presented systematically in accordance with the educational standard, program and philosophy, and in relation to the didactic, psychological, sanitary, hygienic and other requirements, are considered. An integrated and multifaceted classification of school textbooks is developed in the work. It takes into account the meaning, purpose, material design, content originality, re-issuing etc. Two periods of educational publishing, resulting from the reform of educational sphere under the influence of social, economic and political reforms in Ukraine, as ex-USSR republic in the past and the sovereign state at present, were highlighted. The main stages and special features of chemistry textbooks publishing in the context of development of educational textbooks creation in Ukraine were characterized. Identification and review of textbooks, scattered around Ukrainian libraries, made it possible to compile the list of chemistry textbooks published in Ukraine during 1921-2014 as neither bibliographic reference books nor library collections have reflected such information in full so far. Based on hierarchical and functional chemistry textbooks models the evolution of their publishing and printing was traced. The continuity and novelty of chemistry school textbooks publishing interpretation at different stages of their publishing within two historical periods were determined. The Soviet period is differentiated into three stages. The first stage falls at 1920s - the beginning of 1930s. At that time, original and translated textbooks on chemistry were adapted to the integrated and project based system of education. These textbooks were printed in private, cooperative and state publishing houses. The second stage started along with the restoration of class-lessons based system and issuing of one common and unified Soviet translated textbook by V. Verkhovskii, L. Smorgonskii and Ya. Holdfarb in Radianska Shkola printing house (1933-1948). The third stage falls at the end of 1940s - the beginning of 1990s when textbooks by D. Kiriushkin, V. Levchenko, A. Smirnov, G. Shelinskii, Yu. Hodakov, L. Tsvetkov, G. Rudzitis, and others were re-issued annually. Gradually the share of additional, explanatory texts is increased, definitions become diversified; colour illustrations on paste-in slips are introduced; single-colour letterpress printing is changed into two-colour offset printing.
