Inkunabuły i ich właściciele w bibliotekach litewskich
ENCurrently, 502 incunabula are kept in seven different Lithuanian libraries. The incunabula preserved in Lithuania were first registered and described by bibliographer and book scientist Nojus Feigelmanas (1918-2002) in the catalogue The Incunabula of Lithuania (1975). Since then some new developments have taken place. In 2014, the National Library issued its own incunabula catalogue (edited by Viktorija Vaitkevičiūtė), to introduce 16 newly discovered items and to review the incunabula described in Feigelmanas’ catalogue with the help of modern information technologies. The aim of this paper is to analyse the ownership marks of Lithuanian incunabula and identify those significant not only to Lithuanian, but also to European culture, and to trace back the stories of such incunabula to reveal interesting facts about book culture. Most incunabula stored in Lithuania feature inscriptions showing that they were brought to the country as early as in the 16th-17th centuries. Many incunabula were kept at the Dominican monasteries in Vilnius, Kaunas, Grodno, Paparčiai and Slonim; the Bernardine monasteries in Vilnius, Kaunas, Tytuvėnai and Kretinga; the Carmelite monasteries in Vilnius and Grodno; and the Basilian monasteries in Vilnius and Zhyrovichy.They were also kept at Jesuit colleges in Vilnius, Kražiai, Nieswizh, Pašiaušė, Daugavpils and Tartu; at the Samogitian Priest Seminary; at the Priest Seminary of Vilnius Diocese; and at the Orthodox Theological Priest Seminary of Lithuania. Incunabula were read by many famous Lithuanian cultural figures, e.g. the translator of Lithuanian psalms Aleksandras Raduinionis (approx. 1526-1583), Catholic preacher Mikalojus Daukša (1527/1538-1613), Samogitian bishop Merkelis Giedraitis (approx. 1536-1609), Samogitian bishop and writer Motiejus Valančius (1801-1875), as well as famous bibliophiles such as the Grodno Dominican monk Dominik Siwicki (died after 1800), as well as the theologist and Hebrew culture specialist Jonas Krizostomas Gintila (1788-1857). The personal library of Prussian chancellor Martin von Wallenrodt (1570-1632) is also worth mentioning. The library became a public one in 1650 and was merged with the Königsberg University Library in 1909. Lithuanian libraries now preserve 30 incunabula that once belonged to the Wallenrodt library.
