Ludwig Tieck´s Library (continuation)

The goal of this project is the virtual reconstruction of the German romanticist Ludwig Tiecks (1773- 1853) famous library (containing about 16000 volumes). A reconstruction and appreciation of Tiecks library, which contained rare and precious prints from the 16th century through to his own era and was sold at a Berlin auction in 1849/50, would be a pioneer work for studies in European Romanticism and an important contribution to the systematic exploration of scholarly multilingual book collections and an unparalleled opportunity to explore the international book trade in the 19th century. Our goal consists in listing Tiecks complete library, following modern standards of cataloguing, i.e. to assign comprehensive data on Tiecks purchase or use as well as to localise and evaluate all copies. In its first instalment, the project has already localized and examined thousands of volumes in in Berlin, Göttingen, Halle, Krakow, Lodz, London, Munich, Vienna, and in private ownership. The results have already been processed in a database developed specifically for this purpose. A continuation of our project is not just essential due to further leads in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Wroclaw, but especially because of the recent discovery of a catalogue copy naming more than 80 private buyers that partook in the auction, specifying which titles were individually bought and at which price. This source will even beyond our results that have already surpassed our hopes facilitate the exploration of the fate of Tiecks library to a depth not thought possible in 2014. The information on Tiecks libraries is combined and amended to represent an extensive knowledge in an open access database that enhances the depth and quality of the data so that further questions can be considered. The specific and additional value for the understanding of Tiecks library, also in its diachronic dimension, are combined search parameters and searching routines getting far ahead of the possibilities of book-indices. As it is unknown how Tieck arranged his library, the database is open to different classifications for Tiecks books. The database is a necessary prerequisite for the monograph that will present all results of our project and will furthermore guarantee the sustainable use of the results, and it will qualify the project as a meeting point for the international community of researchers on Tieck, romanticism or 19th and 20th century book trade, who are invited to contribute. Thanks to this endeavour, one of the most important libraries of a poet in literary history will, at least virtually, be restored and persevere.

The goal of this project is the virtual reconstruction of the German romanticist Ludwig Tieck's (1773-1853) famous library (containing about 17000 volumes). A reconstruction and appreciation of Tieck's library, which contained rare and precious prints from the 16th century through to his own era and was sold at a Berlin auction in 1849/50, is a pioneer work for studies in European Romanticism and an important contribution to the systematic exploration of scholarly multilingual book collections - but also an unparalleled opportunity to explore the international book trade in the 19th century. Our goal consisted in listing Tieck's complete library, following modern standards of cataloguing, i.e. to assign comprehensive data on Tieck's purchase or use as well as to locate and evaluate all copies. Since 2014, the project has located and examined thousands of volumes in libraries in Berlin, Bonn, Brussels, Göttingen, Halle, Jena, Krakw, Łdź, London, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, Weimar, Wrocław, and in private ownership. The results have largely been processed in a database developed specifically for this purpose. COVID19 has made it impossible so far to carry out essential research in libraries in Moscow and St. Petersburg that is of central importance to the successful conclusion of our project, especially because of the discovery of mysterious duplicates of Tieck's marginalia in works of Elizabethan literature within the holdings of those libraries. The resulting open access database represents the extensive knowledge on Tieck's library in a depth and quality of data. The specific and additional value for the understanding of Tieck's library, also in its diachronic dimension, are combined search parameters and searching routines getting far ahead of the possibilities of book-indices. The database now facilitates the classification of Tieck's books according to the Regensburg classification which is especially suited for collections with an emphasis on fine literature. The database is a necessary prerequisite for the monograph that will present all results of our project and will furthermore guarantee the sustainable use of the results. It will also qualify the project as a meeting point for the international community of researchers on Tieck, Romanticism, or 19th and 20th century book trade, who are, in their turn, invited to contribute. Thanks to this endeavor, one of the most important libraries of a poet in literary history will, at least virtually, be restored and persevere.