National Museum Library Research Articles

Aristotel, Organon, Veneția, Baptista de Tordis, 1484: de la incunabulul din Biblioteca Brukenthal la primele comentarii de logică în limba siriacă

The Brukenthal National Museum Library hosts an impressive collection of incunabula, one of them being Aristotle’s Organon, Venice, Baptista de Tordis, 1484. Initially, the book belonged to ‘The Chapel Library’ (Kapellenbibliothek), a library founded in the fourteenth century, and was transferred to the Brukenthal Library in 1879. One of the first scholars who wrote a commentary about Aristotle’s Organon – to be more precise: only on Categories – in Syriac language was Sergius of Resh’ayna, a sixth century physician and priest who studied in Alexandria. Sergius wrote two commentaries, but he did not translate the texts from Greek to Syriac simply because his audience, native in Syriac, had good knowledge of Greek. Later, when the contacts between Mesopotamia and the Late Roman Empire/Byzantium had decreased, original Aristotelian texts had to be translated into Syriac, because the local elites were not able to understand Greek. Such being the case, the translators played a major role, and two of them were Jacob of Edessa – he himself a bishop –, and George ‘the bishop of the Arabs’, who were active at the end of the seventh century and at the beginning of the eighth century.

Knižní práce ve sbírkách oddělení knižní kultury Knihovny Národního muzea a jejich zpracování

The article deals with the collection of illustrations in the Book Culture Department of the National Museum Library and its professional processing. The text describes the handling of new acquisitions, their sorting, and the processing of original book and magazine illustrations and their subsequent digitisation. The second part of the article provides specific examples of the literary estates of various book artists which have been acquired for the collections of the Book Culture Department. The article concludes with a summary of the most effective ways of handling new acquisitions.

Publications of works of Olha Kobylianska in the book stock of the Andrey Sheptytsky national museum library

Publications of works of Olha Kobylianska in the book stock of the Andrey Sheptytsky national museum library

Vzácné obalové vazby ve sbírkách Knihovny Národního muzea

Rare double-cover bindings in the collections of the National Museum Library Unlike contemporary embossed bindings, Gothic double-cover bindings are mostly undecorated, as priority was given to the binding’s useful function. Covered codexes were stored in a horizontal position and the wide overlaps on the front edge of the back panel were inserted between the front panel and the book block; after the fastening of the clasps, the parchment block was perfectly protected by this “packaging“ against the adverse effects of the surrounding environment. The originally Romanesque type of binding was used for larger format codexes and appeared practically throughout the Middle Ages, until the 16th century. In domestic literature, double-cover binding is wrongly included in the “shape and binding curiosities“ category; abroad, the terminology for describing and determining structural types of bindings with a secondary cover is not clear. During conservation research in the National Museum Library, a total of 45 Gothic double­-cover bindings was found in various states of preservation, from which we can determine a wide range of structural types and several methods of execution. A set of ten double-cover bindings published by Dr. Hamanová was expanded to include bindings from Augustinian monasteries

Z Březnických. Typologický rozbor knižních vazeb středověkých kodexů z augustiniánských klášterů v Roudnici a Sadské

The survey of medieval book bindings in the National Museum Library has focused on a group of codices from Augustinian monasteries in Roudnice nad Labem, Sadská and Jaroměř. The research methodology is based on accurate terminology, form processing and photographic documentation of medieval bindings. When determining the origin of codices, attention is paid to the characteristic features of the bindings, which can be an indicator of provenance. The Roudnice codices can be identified based on the craftsmanship of the metal elements and their compositional concept. Roudnice bindings have been divided into several groups according to the shape and finish of the corner and central pieces. Similarity in bookbinding processing, decoration technique, the use of identical structural and typological elements and materials of the same quality distinguish the Roudnice codices from contemporary domestic bindings.

Slezské zámecké knihovny na okraji zájmu

This study is devoted to the hitherto neglected issue of the care of Silesian castle libraries after 1945. A general introduction and a brief outline of the history and functioning of the National Cultural Commission as the central body for the administration of state cultural property are followed by the main part of the work, focused on individual Silesian castle libraries of which there is evidence in the Agenda of the National Museum, a source consisting of materials of the National Cultural Commission, the State Monument Care, and documents of the Castle Library Department of the National Museum Library. The paper concludes with a summary of the reasons that may have led cultural workers of the time to ignore the frequently valuable Silesian castle collections.

O Přibíkovi z Ostrého a jeho knihách

The study deals with the list of ‘books’ written probably shortly after 1420 on the rear pastedown of the National Museum Library manuscript XVI F 11. This list is likely to have been made by the owner of the manuscript at that time, Přibík from Ostrý, but no further information on him is available in any sources. The list contains 17 items, some with ‘prices’, but both the titles and the values indicate that this is not an inventory of real books or works to be taken seriously. Nevertheless, the scribe clearly expressed in it both his anti-Hussite sentiments and his knowledge of the derogatory stereotypes of the time used to describe adherents of the Hussite doctrine.

An assessment of selection and acquisition practices in meeting library users' information needs at Kenyan National Museum Library

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how quality information materials are maintained in Kenyan museum libraries by examining collection development policy, skills and processes used by librarians in acquisition.Design/methodology/approachA total of 137 respondents, which included 130 registered library users and seven members of staff, completed the questionnaires. This included the principal librarian, for whom an interview schedule was used to collect the required data. A pilot study to ensure data validity and reliability was carried out at the Kenya Medical Research Institute Library. Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyze the research data.FindingsThe findings, which were presented both textually and graphically, show that the National Museum of Kenya library lacks a collection development policy to guide the acquisition process, as well as a diverse set of information resources that are both comprehensive and current to meet the current user information needs. Furthermore, the key impediment to the acquisition of information materials was revealed to be financial constraints, and there was a positive effort to involve library users in the acquisition process.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focus on library users and library staff at the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) library in Nairobi, it may not be, therefore, representative of the acquisition processes at all Kenyan museum libraries. Although NMK has other branches across the country, they were not included in this study.Practical implicationsThis paper purposes to provide the Kenyan museum library with important information about maintaining quality information materials from the perspectives of librarians and library users. Despite efforts to improve information materials, the management faces financial challenges.Social implicationsThe study unveils underlying picture in selection and acquisition practices which will inform on meeting library users information needs.Originality/valueThe paper is of value as a case study of Kenya Museums Library.

Pozůstalost Františka Škroupa (1801–1862) v Národním muzeu v Praze (Ke 160. výročí úmrtí)

The Czech composer and conductor František Škroup was one of the most important musicians active in Bohemia in the second quarter of the 19th century. For 30 years from 1827, he was a conductor at the Estates Theatre in Prague, the leading operatic stage in Bohemia (and from 1837 to 1858 the chief conductor), and he conducted the most important Prague concerts. He spent the last two years of his life in Rotterdam, where he took part in the inception of the newly established German opera. He had a major influence over the public’s developing musical tastes at the time, but now Škroup has unjustly become a nearly forgotten figure. He is remembered by the Czech public mostly as the composer of the song “Kde domov můj?” (Where My Home Is) from the farce Fidlovačka. Already in the 19th century, it spontaneously became the unofficial hymn of the Czech nation, and after the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy and the founding of Czechoslovakia as an independent state in 1918, it became the official national anthem. After Škroup’s death in 1862, the intention of his widow Karolina had been to donate his estate to the National Museum, but in 1863 she only sent the museum the autograph scores of two of Škroup’s key works: the singspiel Dráteník and the farce Fidlovačka. The National Museum obtained the estate in 1921 as an inheritance from Božena Škroupová (1847–1928), who bequeathed its contents to the museum under the condition that she would use some items until her death, whereafter they would be handed over to the National Museum, which she made her sole heir. This very extensive collection is of quite extraordinary cultural value: it contains tangible artefacts (furniture), a wealth of iconographical material, the personal documents of several members of the family of František Škroup – Karolina Škroupová, and their daughters Karolina and Božena, family correspondence. Škroup’s compositions including autograph scores, handwritten copies, and printed editions, plenty of printed material mostly from the period after Škroup’s death, and books. The artefacts and iconographical material were kept at the Department of Historical Archaeology, books and printed or manuscript writings were kept at the literary archive of the National Museum, and music was kept in the music collection that was formerly part of the National Museum Library. When the National Museum’s literature archives were transferred to the Literary Archive of the Museum of Czech Literature, this collection was retained at the National Museum and was registered among the collections at the Music Department in 1954. It is certain that sheet music was turned over to the museum in 1921 and furniture at the beginning of 1929; most of the books had been turned over already in 1921. In most cases it is not possible to determine reliably when written materials were handed over. Inventory numbers or shelf marks have been found for most of the items from the will, and the library still needs to be identified. So far, the writings in the estate are still entered in the systematic records under acquisition number 4/54. The discovery of the will is very beneficial for the further processing of the estate because we are now aware of internal connections and are able to organise the material well.The National Museum has definitely fulfilled the stipulation in Božena Škroupová’s will “that the objects be preserved reverently for future generations” – the objects are properly stored, processed, available to scholarly researchers, and on display in exhibits; most of the furniture is on display in an exhibit at the History Museum in Vrchotovy Janovice.

First record of Gastrallus laticollis pic 1929 (coleoptera: Bostrichoidea: Ptinidae) in Sri Lanka

Libraries, archives and museums in tropical countries like Sri Lanka are at great risk to be infested by insect pests. These can damage especially celluloses-based and starch glue materials and objects like books, paper or traditional palm leave manuscripts. Besides beetles (Coleoptera, mainly Ptinidae), also termites (Isoptera) and silverfish (Zygentoma) are the most problematic pests infesting these collections across the island. We sampled the pests and their abundance in the National Museum Library in Colombo and found six different species of library pests: the termite Cryptotermes sp., two silverfish species Lepisma saccharinum, Ctenolepisma longicaudatum and three beetle species of Ptinidae: Lasioderma serricorne, Stegobium paniceum and Gastrallus laticollis. G. laticollis is a new species to the fauna of Sri Lanka, it is only known from Singapore. Its occurrence in Sri Lanka and the distribution of other species of the genera Gastrallus in Asia are discussed.

Výměna publikací Knihovny Národního muzea v letech 2011–2020

The international exchange of publications has a long tradition in the National Museum. It is an important source of foreign scientific literature as well as a very useful way of distributing publications published by the National Museum and thus presenting its scientific results. The paper describes the situation and changes in this area in the period of 2011–2020. It summarises the main external influences and tendencies. It compares acquisitions by purchase and exchange. It describes the current goals of the international exchange of publications in the National Museum Library.

Provenienční průzkum zámecké knihovny Jílové

The paper examines provenances in the Jílové Castle Library, which is a fragment of the Thun-Hohenstein family library (Děčín branch). Apart from the Thun ownership marks, the library contains remnants of significant book acquisitions of the 19th and 20th centuries. The research has also proved that some books from the library of the Cathedral Chapter in Hradec Králové were accidentally included into this collection after its transfer under the administration of the National Museum Library. Even some particular book owners have been identified.

Fragmenty českého překladu básně Facetus

The article deals with two incomplete handwritten copies of the poem Facetus with a Czech translation. The poem Facetus, or more specifically its version referred to as ‘Cum nihil utilius’ based on its incipit, probably originated in the 12th century; in the high Middle Ages, it was the second most widespread of moral lessons in verse. It was also used in school instruction, with which both copies are associated. The fragment of the National Museum Library 1 H b 179, most likely from the second decade of the 15th century, contains the beginning of the poem’s interpretation and a part of the text accompanied by a Latin explanation and Czech interlinear glosses on individual verses. This Czech version reveals a certain continuity with the tradition of Czech scientific terminology of St Vitus School and Bartholomew of Chlumec, called Claretus. The second copy is written on the front free endpaper of the manuscript of the National Library of the Czech Republic X F 19; it comes from the turn of the 15th century; it is an incomplete record of the beginning of the text of the poem, with the Latin and Czech versions alternating after individual words or short sections. The study further provides a transcription of both fragments and records the manuscript preservation of the Latin text of Facetus, excerpts from it and German translations in Czech libraries.

Rukopisný Litevský slovník v kontextu české baltistiky první poloviny 19. století: koncepční záměr slovníku a otázka autorství

This study focuses on the manuscript Litevský slovník [Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language] (shelf mark IV A 11), kept at the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the National Museum Library. This handwritten lexicographic relic is dated to the first half of the 19th century and contains 1,701 entries. The nature of the Lithuanian Dictionary determines its significance. It is a comprehensive and complete philological study (organised alphabetically from A to Ž) that tries to answer crucial questions of Balto-Slavic relations. This article places the Lithuanian Dictionary within the context of Czech Baltic studies, particularly focusing on the matter of its authorship. Concerning this question, the article builds on previous research, in which F. L. Čelakovský was suggested as the likely author of the Dictionary. It updates previous research and adds new findings revealed by a professional handwriting analysis. A separate chapter focuses on the nature of the work, demonstrating the character of the Lithuanian Dictionary on several examples.

Rankraštinio Lietuvių kalbos žodyno autorystės klausimas: nauji faktai, paaiškėję atliekant teismo rašysenos ekspertizę

The archival document Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language (shelfmark IV A 11) is kept at the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the Czech National Museum Library. This handwritten lexicographic relic is dated to the first half of the 19th century and contains 1701 entries. This article focuses on the matter of authorship of this relic following previous research studies, in which F. L. Čelakovský was suggested as the likely author of the Dictionary. The article presents new findings revealed from a Czech professional handwriting analysis. The evidence discussed in the article is based on the assumption that F. L. Čelakovský is the author of the handwritten Dictionary of the Lithuanian Language.

The Defurovy Lažany Manor Library – the Collection of Otokar Kruliš-Randa

The article deals with the Defurovy Lažany manor library, which used to comprise the collection of the prominent Czech industrialist Otokar Kruliš-Randa. The private collection of this bibliophile began to be formed during his studies and reached its zenith in the 1930s. This period is documented by a number of archival sources described in this article. In the 1940s, Kruliš-Randa moved his collection to the newly purchased manor, Defurovy Lažany. After the Second World War, the property of Otokar Kruliš-Randa, including his library, was confiscated. First, a part of it was placed in the State Agriculture and Forestry Archives in Horšovský Týn. Subsequently, according to a decision of the National Cultural Commission, it was moved to the Study and Research Library of the Pilsen Region, with the exception of the volumes of reference works, which remained in the archives. A part of the manuscript collection is deposited in the National Museum Library, where most of the manuscripts had been donated by Otokar Kruliš--Randa before the confiscation. Kruliš-Randa’s original collection has been kept in these institutions to this day. Despite its confiscation, the Defurovy Lažany manor library has been preserved more or less as a whole without greater losses.

Landscape as a National Symbol. Říp Mountain, Blaník Mountain, the River Vltava and the River Elbe and Their Role in Shaping the National Identity in the Final Stage of the Czech National Movement

The paper deals with the role of the landscape in the shaping of the national identity in the final stage of the formation of the Czech modern nation. The topic is treated through the perspective of two pairs of Bohemian landscape features (Říp and Blaník Mountains, and the rivers Vltava and Elbe), both rich in symbolism. This concept was further highlighted by the travelling panel exhibition Story of Landscape at the Nation’s Service, which was held in the Lapidarium of the National Museum in the autumn of 2018. The present text is based on the research of literature and period sources (collection items) located in the National Museum Library and in the Historical Museum of the National Museum. The author presents the landscape as an important national symbol which has assumed this function through its relation to stories based on national history. The landscape is perceived here not only as a real (physical) environment, as a scene where a wide range of national and later tourist activities took place, but also as a symbolic space closely connected to the ideas of individuals within the national society.

Provenance Records in the Historical Part of the Library of Bohuslav Dušek

The article presents the provenance records preserved in the part of the library of the collector Bohuslav Dušek deposited in the Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books of the National Museum Library. Numerous provenance marks were left in the books by Dušek himself. Other preserved marks of Czech provenance come from Protestants as well as Catholics, from peasants, burghers and nobles, and later from scholars. The studied part does not contain any coherent set, because Dušek did not purchase the books in large quantities and chose them carefully according to his interests. For comparison, the collection of the director of Živnostenská banka Jaroslav Preiss is briefly presented as well.

Medieval Organ Tablature on a Manuscript Fragment from the National Museum Library

Abstract The manuscript fragment in the collection of the National Museum Library in Prague under shelf mark 1 D a 3/52 is a sheet of paper with writing on both sides, containing two strata of inscriptions. The first stratum consists of accounting records, one of which is dated to 1356. That is also the terminus post quem for the other stratum of inscriptions, namely the musical notation of two liturgical plainchants in two-voice organ paraphrases. This involves the introit Salve, sancta parens and the Kyrie magne Deus. The discant is written in black mensural notation on a staff, while the tenor, which quotes the plainchant melody, is partially written in musical notation on the same staff, partially notated by letters for note names, and partially only indicated by syllables of text of the original plainchant. This notation documents the transition from practise without notation to the written notation of music for keyboard instruments, and it significantly supplements the material found in treatises from the milieu of the ars organisandi, which are available to us from fifteenth-century manuscripts.

Fates of the Old Czech Annals [Text F

The collection of Hussite chronicles called Old Czech Annals contains more than thirty manuscripts some of which have been left out of the research spotlight. One of them is the Czech written text F (called “of Stockholm”) from the second half of the 15th century, currently stored under the signature G 10, no. 432 in the Moravian Municipal Archive in Brno, nevertheless, until 1878, it had been held in Stockholm as a spoil. The text F describes the course of events on the Czech territory from the years 1393 to 1453. Particular emphasis is laid on the events taking place during the Hussite revolution (after 1419) narrated, from the perspective of moderate Utraquism, by an anonymous Prague chronicler. Even though he, in his descriptions, consciously evades to include his evaluation of the events, striving for being an objective and impartial, unbiased observer, it is possible, at times, to read his attitude and opinion from his language rendering, which we instantiate with citations from the manuscript. A copy of the manuscript was acquired during its brief borrowing from Sweden to Prague in 1819 by Václav Hanka (1791–1861), a prominent representative of the Czech National Revival. The copy is stored in the National Museum Library, signature III F 9.