Preußische Bibliothekare verhandeln den Ankauf großer Sammlungen nach Berlin. Von Christoph Rauch
Channel: Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Date: 15/08/2022

„Ich möchte also rathen zuzuschlagen.“ – Prussian Librarians Negotiate the Purchase of Large Collections for the Royal Library in Berlin 

From its foundation to the present day, the Berlin collection of Oriental manuscripts has grown steadily, with attention being given to different regional and thematic focal points. The development of Oriental manuscript collections could seldom take place systematically, but was subjected to criteria such as the supply situation and financial possibilities. The role of the librarians in this process will be illustrated here using the example of the heyday of Arabic manuscript acquisitions.
The Royal Library in Berlin acquired extensive collections of Arabic manuscripts in the second half of the 19th century. The purchases from Wetzstein, Petermann, Sprenger, Minutoli, Landberg and Glaser comprised already about 7,000 volumes. The librarians who pushed the acquisitions worked in networks of diverse actors. These included, firstly, the sellers themselves (who were usually Orientalists), secondly external appraisers and, finally, ministry officials who ultimately had to provide the funds for the purchase. To what extent could librarians influence collection building? What criteria were used to evaluate a collection in terms of content and value, and did these criteria change over the decades? The evaluation of accession documents and archival materials makes it possible to pursue these questions.

Christoph Rauch is Head of the Oriental Department of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.