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- Title
EAST PRUSSIAN LITHUANIAN PUBLICATIONS IN THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES LIBRARY.
- Authors
BEKŽANOVA, NAILIA
- Abstract
The Russian Academy of Sciences Library in St. Petersburg has a rich assemblage of Lithuanian publications. It is stored in the Slavic department. The main merit in the creation of "The Lithuanian Fund" belongs to Eduardas Volteris who was a linguist and the professor of the Saint-Petersburg University; since 1887 he was an employee and then the chief of the Slavic department of the Russian Academy of Sciences Library. In 1912, he transferred into possession of the library the assemblage of the Lithuanian books and magazines, and also works on the study of Lithuania, all up to 600 titles (about 700 volumes). This assemblage included the East Prussian Lithuanian publications printed under the tsarist prohibitory circular on printing, import and distribution of all Roman alphabet Lithuanian publications in the territory of the Russian Empire (1864-1904). According to experts' estimations, for forty years there were printed abroad 2 687 titles with the purpose of illegal import to Lithuania; 139 publications of this period were revealed by a continuous viewing of the Lithuanian catalogue of our library. Most of these books were printed in 1882-1903. Volter's connections with the Lithuanian national movement figures who lived in St. Petersburg, Lithuania and Prussia (such as S. Baltramaitis, J. Baltrušaitis, J. Basanavčius, P. Matulionis, M. Jankus, etc.) helped him to get these publications promptly. The majority of these publications were printed in Tilžė (Tilsit), ten books were printed in Bitėnai and three in Priekulė, no one in Klaipėda and Ragainė The most outstanding printing house, among others and well known to all experts belonged to Otto yon Mauderode and was allocated in Tilžė. Some publications were printed in the printing houses of J. Schoenke and M. Jankus, also in some others. There is a part of the Lithuanian assemblage that attracts particular attention. This is a set of the newspapers and magazines that reflected the views of the members of various political parties (liberal-democrats, Christian democrats, social democrats) such as "Apšvieta", "Aušra", "Kryžius", "Lietuviškas Darbininkas", "Naujienos", "Šviesa", "Tėvynės sargas", "Ūkininkas", "Varpas", "Žemaičių ir Lietuvos apžvalga". The subject area of the Lithuanian assemblage of our library serves the main purposes of the publishing activity such as language preservation, nation consolidating power, national identity and education. BÉlles-léttres is the main part of this assemblage. There are not only Lithuanian writers and enlighteners but also Hungarian, Polish, German and even Russian writers among the authors. It is a striking illustration of the desire of the readers to acquaint with the world literature. The ABC-books, Lithuanian grammar and arithmetic manuals form a separate block. The enlightening activity of the publishers was reflected in publications devoted to the fundamentals of astronomy, physiology, medicine, history, geography and zoology. The books devoted to agriculture and bee-keeping, calendars, prayer books had to provide for the spiritual and economic life of Lithuanian people. In the majority of cases, the publications have additional attributes such as seals, stamps, donatives' inscriptions, ex-librises, superex-librises, marginalias, specially enclosed materials, and this raised their value in the opinion of the researchers.
- Subjects
PRUSSIA, East (Poland &; Russia); POLAND; RUSSIA; LITHUANIA; PUBLICATIONS; ACADEMIC libraries; INFORMATION resources; REFERENCE sources
- Publication
Knygotyra, 2009, Issue 52, p163
- ISSN
0204-2061
- Publication type
Article