Metadata: Collections of Manuscripts
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Wroblewski Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos mokslų akademijos Vrublevskių biblioteka
- Postal address:
- Žygimantų g. 1, 01102 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 262 9537
- Web address:
- http://www.mab.lt/
- Email:
- aptarnavimas@mab.lt
- Reference number:
- 7
- Title:
- Collections of Manuscripts
- Title (official language):
- Autografų kolekcijos rankraščiai
- Date(s):
- 1626/1925
- Language:
- Lithuanian
- Polish
- Latin
- Russian
- French
- German
- Italian
- Extent:
- 2,272 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains 2,272 letters, mainly from the 19th and 20th centuries on education, science and social issues, although there is also some personal correspondence. The letters provide insight into various Lithuanian historical personalities of the 17th and 18th centuries as well as important historical events, e.g. uprisings. The correspondence among Vilnius university scientists and professors, e.g. Joachim Lelewel, reflect some of the history of the academy of science in the 19th century. Furthermore, the collection includes the correspondence of academics, artists and musicians from other European states, such as Poland.
Jewish-related information is found in the handful of letters sent by lawyer Simon Rosenbaum to Tadeusz Wróblewski (Tadas Vrublevskis) on the legal case of his friend accused of belonging to a Zionist organisation. In the letters addressed to Wróblewski from Marija Rotvandova, one of the questions discussed is Rotvandova’s preparation for a lecture on the Jewish question in one of the high schools. There are also letters from the first half of the 20th century concerning the Jewish community of Vilna, rights of Jews and the issue of pogroms.
There are many letters sent to Wróblewski by a lawyer, Stanislav Leszczynski, discussing the holding of a lecture about Jewish rights in Lithuania. Other senders of 1-3 letters addressed to Wróblewski are: J Bronowski; Jewish activist Jokūbas Wygodzki who thanked Wróblewski for defending Jewish rights to a building belonging to the Jewish community and David Gusiacki (Dovydas Gusiackis) who wrote about his son Kharkiv. There is a letter concerning soldier German Gusiacki (Germanas Gusiackis) who is accused of shooting Christians during the pogroms. In one letter the priest J Janulaitis mentions the fate of a kidnapped Jewish girl, A D Kiržnicas. There is also a letter to Wróblewski about a pogrom against Jews in Bialystok.
Other Jewish or Jewish community related questions are discussed in a letter addressed to Felix Zawadzki from Jan Aleksander Karlowicz, e.g. regarding the printing of a publication on Jewish questions; in a letter from Jan Wolfgang to Michelisas on the Jewish question and Jewish education; a letter from Klemens Szaniawski to Jan Karlowicz discussing I Bernstein's translation of Proverbs to Polish; in letters addressed to Andrius Senkevičius from the Jewish community in Eišiškės, the community requesting resources to rebuild the synagogue; in letters addressed to Adam Zawadzky (Adomas Zavadskis), Jonas Gintaila Kristozomas mentions publications translated into Yiddish; Wyszkowski also wrote about some Vilnius Jews reselling books. The origin of the Jewish Pelikan family was discussed In letters from Lev Zmejev (Levas Zmejevas) to Yusef Belinski (Yuzefas Belinskis) during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
The collection also contains some information about Jewish communities in letters addressed to government officers in the 18th century, during the reign of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. For example, one letter from Vilnius castellan Pociejus Liudvikas Konstantinas to Vilnius Castle judge Zelenovsky discussed the losses of the Jewish community following an extensive fire; small disputes with the community are also mentioned; in a letter to an unknown addressee P. L. Konstantinas mentions his formal relations with Vilnius city Jews. One letter from Benedykt Paweł Sapieha (Benediktas Povilas Sapiega) to Wladyslaw Ror (Vladislavas Roras) mentions a legal case of two Jews - Leiba and Ephraim. In two letters sent to an unknown addressee, K Moigis (Maigys) writes about disputes with Kupiszki City (Kupiškis) Jews. Krakow castellan Adam Sieniawski, in a letter addressed to Dubinski, writes about a conflict between Kaunas stolnik and the Jews of Shklow concerning their debts. In a few letters addressed to Kostrowitzky, Antanas Pomarnackis writes of Lida town foresters and their disputes with the Jews of Vasilishki town concerning monetary debts. Priest Szmatowicz writes in his letter to an unknown addressee about the money he lent to the Jewish craftsmen of Pumpenai and Druja.
- Archival history:
- Together with other fonds of collections in the Wroblewski library, the fonds F.7 was received in 1940. The collection was supplemented in 1967 (1 manuscript added) and 1969 (22 manuscripts added). The correspondence in this edition of the catalogue is organised alphabetically, according to the names of the senders.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The catalogue was first published in 1911 by Tadeusz Wróblewski. He was a Polish-Lithuanian noble, politician, lawyer, bibliophile and cultural activist who from 1912 attempted to establish a public library in Vilnius. To that end he established the Eustachy and Emilia Wróblewska library society, which later transformed into the Wroblewski scientific aid society. In 1925, just before his death, Wróblewski donated his collection to the city under strict conditions that the collection should be never split and under no circumstances would leave the city. Wróblewski died before formal donation procedures were finished. In 1926 the library, then under the custody of the Polish government, was renamed the National Library of Eustachy and Emilia Wróblewska in Wilno (Państwowa Biblioteka im. Eustachego i Emilii Wróblewskich w Wilnie). By 1939 the library was expanded with a scientific institute and a museum, and had about 200,000 items, including paintings, artefacts, maps and coins. Following the Soviet invasion of Poland, the most valuable part of the collection was robbed in September 1939, and together with most of Vilnius city archives was transferred to Minsk. The library was taken over by the Lithuanians in October 1939. The manuscripts of Fonds 7 were returned in 1940.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged alphabetically.
- Finding aids:
- A list of files is available at the MAB.
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Monika Žulytė