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Bookplate Index by Library or Collector
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Herzog August Library The Herzog
August Library in Wolfenbüttel is a research library specializing in the
Middle Ages and the cultural history of the early modern era (fifteenth
through eighteenth centuries). Its holdings comprise 12,000 manuscripts
(3,000 being medieval) and approximately 800,000 printed books, 350,000 of which were published before 1830.
This includes some 3,470 incunabula, 80,000 sixteenth-century printings,
and 150,000 seventeenth-century printings. These books constitute the
centerpiece of the collection. Noteworthy among the special collections
are books on painting, portrait engravings, historical cards, and
illustrated pamphlets. The library was founded by Herzog Julius zu Braunschweig und Lüneburg.
The oldest document recognizing its existence dates from the year 1572.
Some decades later the already substantial collection was turned over to
Helmstedt University. Herzog August the Younger (1579-1666), sovereign
from 1635, reestablished the library in 1644, when he brought his library
to Wolfenbüttel and applied considerable resources to its comprehensive
expansion. Next to August, Leibnitz and Lessing stand out as Wolfenbüttel's
most famous librarians. Upon the closure of Helmstedt University in 1810,
the greater portion of its remaining books were returned to Wolfenbüttel. The collection's development has proceeded at an irregular pace, as the
library was underfunded from the eighteenth century through the middle
half of the present century. Only since 1950 has the financial situation
generally improved. The library's transformation into an institution that
fosters research projects, for which it provides both personnel and
material support, was initiated after 1970. For some years now, the
library has been a member of the group of Independent Research Libraries. The illustration shows the supralibros with which Herzog August stamped
the covers of his books from 1592 to 1607. It has appeared previously in
the exhibition catalogue: “Sammler, Fürst, Gelehrter. Herzog August zu
Braunschweig und Lüneburg 1579-1666,'' Braunschweig 1979 (Ausstellungs-kataloge
der Herzog August Bibliothek. No. 27), p. 57. The original dimensions of
the stamp came to 4.5 x 3.5 cm. (height x width). Fortuna is represented
within the oval holding a sail in her hands. A symbol of opportunity
personified in the form of a goddess, she glides over the sea, while
standing upon a winged sphere. A city is in the background. This motif
found frequent use in Renaissance art. Werner
Arnold Herzog
August Bibliothek Wolfenbüttel,
West Germany Translation
by Donald Firsching Graduate
School of Library and Information Science University of Texas at Austin [Originally published in Journal of Library History, vol. 25, no. 1 (Winter 1990): 151-152.]
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| Last updated June 30, 2001 |
