Martyna Osuch

Polish Descriptions of Rome in the Collection of the Early Printed Books Department of the University of Warsaw Library—a Provenance Study

Descriptions of the Eternal City written or translated by Poles began to appear in print in the second half of the 16th century. Before 1800 only eight titles were published, three of which are kept in the Early Printed Books Department of the University of Warsaw Library. Analysing the individual characteristics of the copies, such as ownership marks, marginalia, or bindings, an attempt is made to establish the identity of the owners of the books, their interests and reading practices, and to determine the ways in which Rome was perceived by readers born in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The aim of the study is also to show how the way of thinking about the Eternal City changed over the years and to present the purposes for which the former guides and accounts about Rome were used by the 17th, 18th, and 19th century readers. Five editions and eight copies of three titles were analysed. These are: O Rzymie pogańskim i chrześcijańskim (On Pagan and Christian Rome) by Andrzej Wargocki (two editions, five copies), Delicyje ziemie włoskiej (Italian Delicacies) by Georg Kranitz (two editions, two copies), and Droga rzymska z nawrotem do swojej ojczyzny (A Return Journey to Rome) by Kazimierz Kognowicki (one edition, one copy).

Collection of Emblems in the Early Printed Books Department of the University of Warsaw Library: An Overview of Bibliography and Provenance Traits

This paper presents synthetic information on the exhibition of early printed books from the collection of the Early Printed Books Department of the University of Warsaw Library, organized for the participants of the Seminar on emblems on 23–24 May 2019, at the Artes Liberales Faculty. The goal of this paper is to discuss a selection of emblem books being part of the library collection, with special focus on their provenance. The books are divided into four main thematic groups: 1. Meditative emblems devoted to religion; 2. Emblem literature of formative function 3. Emblems for specific occasions; 4. Emblematic compendia. It is pointed out that a large number of the emblem books under discussion originate from libraries of religious orders.