O ks. Stanisławie Kozierowskim, jednym z najbardziej zasłużonych naukowców wielkopolskich, powstało wiele artykułów. Badaczy interesował w szczególności życiorys jednego z założycieli poznańskiego Uniwersytetu, inspirował niezwykły dorobek onomastyczny i genealogiczny, pociągał portret psychologiczny człowieka, który bez reszty poświęcił się pracy twórczej. Bardzo mało uwagi poświęcali natomiast wielkiej kolekcji książek, która rozsławiła imię Kozierowskiego na równi z jego dorobkiem naukowym. Tuż przed śmiercią przekazał on całą bibliotekę Archiwum Państwowemu w Poznaniu, które w czasie wojny poniosło dotkliwe straty materialne. Wśród blisko 7000 tomów znajdowało się kilkadziesiąt starodruków. Na skutek decyzji dawnych władz Archiwum o relokacji książek poznańska placówka na zawsze utraciła także te najcenniejsze materiały. W niniejszym artykule ukazano kulisy owej donacji, a także podjęto próbę ustalenia obecnej lokalizacji starodruków. Integralną częścią artykułu jest bibliograficzny spis zabytkowych książek należących w przeszłości do Kozierowskiego, który być może ułatwi odnalezienie 26 dzieł z tejże listy.

Father Stanisław Kozierowski’s lost book collection

Much has been written about father Stanisław Kozierowski, one of the most distinguished scientists of Greater Poland. Scholars were mainly interested in his biography as one of the founding fathers of the Poznań University, inspired by his extraordinary achievements in the fields of onomastics and genealogy, and attracted by the personality of a man who dedicated his whole life to creative work. Little attention was paid to the large book collection, which Kozierowski was famous for almost as much as for his scientific achievements. Right before his death, he donated his book collection to the National Archive in Poznań, which suffered great losses during the war. Among nearly 7000 volumes, there were several dozen old prints. Following the decision of the Archive’s former authorities to relocate the collection, the Poznań branch lost these items, including the most valuable ones, forever. This article presents the story behind this donation and attempts to establish where these old prints are at the moment. A bibliographical list of historic books from the Kozierowski collection is an essential part of the article, and might aid researchers in finding 26 items from the list.

Keywords: Kozierowski Stanisław, National Archive in Poznań, private collections, old prints, library, provenance

Much has been written about father Stanisław Kozierowski, one of the most distinguished scientists of Greater Poland. Scholars were mainly interested in his biography as one of the founding fathers of the Poznań University, inspired by his extraordinary achievements in the fields of onomastics and genealogy, and attracted by the personality of a man who dedicated his whole life to creative work. Little attention was paid to the large book collection, which Kozierowski was famous for almost as much as for his scientific achievements. Right before his death, he donated his book collection to the National Archive in Poznań, which suffered great losses during the war. Among nearly 7000 volumes, there were several dozen old prints. Following the decision of the Archive’s former authorities to relocate the collection, the Poznań branch lost these items, including the most valuable ones, forever. This article presents the story behind this donation and attempts to establish where these old prints are at the moment. A bibliographical list of historic books from the Kozierowski collection is an essential part of the article, and might aid researchers in finding 26 items from the list.