The Research Library at the Getty Research Institute has recently finished digitizing historic catalogs of the library of Łańcut Castle in Podkarpackie, Poland, and making them available to the U.S. Consul General in Krakow and the director of the Łańcut Castle Museum.
Page from Catalogue de la bibliothèque à Lancut de Son Excellence Monsieur le comte Alfrede (sic) Potocki (1832). The Getty Research Institute, 910146B
The digitization is part of the Research Institute’s ongoing work to make items from our library’s holdings freely accessible online. The two Łańcut catalogs—which include one compiled in Latin in 1757 listing some 800 titles, and a second written in French in 1832 in 1832 inventorying approximately 1,800 prints and 7,500 books—are available to all for free download on the Internet Archive, where they join over 8,700 other books we’ve digitized since 2008.
Richinda Brim of the Getty Research Institute works with scanning equipment used to digitize the inventories. Shown here under glass is the 1832 catalog.
Opening page from Catalogus bibliothecae Lancutensis, Stanislai principis Lubomirski (1757). The Getty Research Institute, 910146A
Łańcut Castle, now a museum, dates back to the 17th century, and the buildings, interiors, and library remain largely intact. In 1944 the surviving heir to the castle took the catalogs with him when he fled in advance of the Russian Army. Later they were purchased by the Getty Research Institute, and we now hold them in our Research Library. The museum has no early catalogs of its collections and is thrilled to locate them and receive digitized copies.
This week Lee A. Feinstein, U.S. ambassador to Poland, will visit Łańcut Castle Museum and present beautifully printed facsimiles of the catalogs created using the hi-res digital scans to Wit Karol Wojtowicz, director of the Museum. We’re delighted to assist in this project, which U.S. Consul General Allen Greenberg described as a great example of the friendship between the people of the United States and Poland.
Łańcut Castle today. Photo: Lestat (Jan Mehlich) / Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5
I am glad the Getty does not only provide free digital copies, but also made facsimiles of the catalogs as a gift for Poland.