THE ORIENTAL MANUSCRIPTS COLLECTION
OF THE INSTITUTE FOR BALKAN STUDIES IN SARAJEVO
(1904-1918) †

Kemal Bakarsi\'c
University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Summary: The genesis of the Oriental manuscript collection in the Dr. Karl Patsch Institute for Balkan Studies, from 1904 to 1918, is reviewed by the author, based on recently discovered archival documents of the Institute. The accounts of the Institute for the period 1907-1910 confirmed a pattern of patient and continuous acquisition of rare, old Oriental manuscripts, archival documents, and codices in the Arabic, Turkish, and Persian languages. Seventy-three per cent of the Institute's budget was spent for such purposes. Most of the manuscripts were bought from Sejfudin Eff.  Kemura and Hamdija Kresevljakovi\'c.


Introduction

From 1986 to 1992, I was Head Librarian at the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Everyday work in the library had brought me into a close relationship with in-house documents on the development and intimate history of the collection and its growth. Unlike other library users, I was privileged to see clearly the hidden aspect of love and passion which my predecessors brought to the creation and maintenance of the various library collections. But I had no desire for research focused on the rich holdings of the National Museum and its library history, since I hoped I would have enough time during my professional career, enough patience, knowledge, and wisdom in the later years of my working life (prior to retirement) for so noble a task. That is, I intended to concentrate on this beginning somewhere around the year 2020.

But reality, especially the crisis year 1992, not only changed my plans, but also forced me to rethink my basic philosophy as a professional librarian.

On May 18, 1992, the Oriental Institute and its library collection were deliberately destroyed. The target: the premises of the Institute; the method: white phosphorus military shells, capable not only of burning fragile paper or parchment to ashes, but of melting the steel cabinets where manuscript collections were kept. The motive: political propaganda originating in the dispute regarding ownership of land in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and denial1 of otherness.

On August 25, 1992 the National and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina was also destroyed. The target and method of artillery attack: the same as before, but intended as a final statement not on property, but on convivencia . (Riedlmayer 1998).

During the evacuation of the Library of the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo (Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine ), established in 1888 as Landesmuseum für Bosnien und der Herzegowina , I came across some file boxes of the former Institute for Balkan Studies which I had never previously held in my hands. After the sad task of removal was done, I had enough time to open the boxes. Beyond any other intentions, the evacuation of the library's manuscript collection to the other, safer library room, forced by the 1992 war, turned out to make a rediscovery possible. This set of archival records and manuscripts was hidden from view due to a most simple error of library handling. Some 20 original Oriental and other manuscripts were enclosed in another file folder, along with the documentation on the Institute's activity.2

Among other items the boxes contained an autograph manuscript of the poet Aleksa Santi\'c, constituting the second edition of his poems from 1902, and a dramatic work of Svetozar Córovi\'c. Both bore the acronym “S.L.A,” that might be an inscription recording a possible donation or a special collection mark. The same acronym occurred in a dozen other manuscripts, documents, and single sheets but nearly hidden from notice without careful examination of the manuscript collection. This was my first encounter with this particular collection. Later, the meaning of this secret was revealed.3



The Institute for Balkan Studies

The general framework of the activities of the Dr. Karl Patsch Institute for Balkan Studies (Institut für Balkansforschungen , a.k.a. Bosnisches-Herzegowinisches Institut für Balkansforschungen ), in the rather short period from 1904 to 1918, covered a variety of research areas, from organization of scientific study tours, to area studies, development of various kinds of collections, systematic research and investigations of targeted areas, production of scientific publications, and finally international distribution of publications.

In the 14 years of its existence, the Institute had tried to gain the status of a state institution, covering wide areas of scientific research and publishing. Its main goal was to obtain stable and regular state-sponsored funding, necessary for performance in accordance with its detailed mid- and short-term plans as presented to the Government. The Institute failed to achieve such a status at the beginning and was more or less dependent on irregular subsidies and individual donations, as well as the amazing enthusiasm of its founder, Dr. Patsch. From 1904 to 1913, the Institute was largely privately supported, and it was financed in the state budget as a separate item for the first time in 1913.

As Spiritus movens of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Institute for Balkan Studies, Dr. Patsch wisely and patiently produced remarkable results. Twice he tried to persuade the government authorities, e.g., the Joint Ministry of Finance (Gesamt-Ministerie für Finanz ), that his Institute should be funded as a permanent state institution. It would be charged with a variety of scientific and research investigations and with publishing activities especially concerned with developing a scientific library and archive, along with an impressive plan for future investigations in the literary heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Dr. Patsch developed a remarkable library collection and formulated a long-term, multifaceted plan for the scientific study of the literary heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina. His first, crucial, activity was to campaign for a very special targeted Südslawisches Literarisches Archiv (South Slavic Literary Archive), accompanied by a reference library, and special library/archive collections under the name Arbeitzimmer (Study rooms). This was intended as a preparatory phase for the time- and resource-consuming research on Slavic inscriptions, palæ ography, systematic bibliography, the further growth of the original Institute library, and expansion of the manuscript and Oriental manuscript collections of the Institute.4

Even from the distance of almost 80 years, it is very hard to render a definitive, objective, historical judgement of the goals and functions of the Institute of Balkan Studies. Obviously its activities were planned and carried out on a widely conceived and, scientifically speaking, neutral paradigm and platform. The organization of the Institute involved predominantly special collections with little or almost no investment in scientific research. It was envisioned that the Institute would be an institution for occasional use, a home for authentic collections attracting a network of visiting scholars using the Institute's facilities.

On the other hand, the Institute's goal was research, within all historical and cultural disciplines, on the whole Balkan peninsula, but in assessing its accomplishments such a focus is not clearly perceived. The foundation of the South Slavic Literary Archives was in fact the establishment of the Literary Archive of Bosnians and Herzegovinians only. This created a conflict of interest with respect to the relations and responsibilities of the National Museum and the Institute.

The restrictions on the Institute were at least dual. One aspect was the political and intellectual atmosphere created by Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1878-1918) regarding questions of the development and status of the occupied (1878) and then annexed (1908) territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The basic issues were the varieties and limits of cultural and political autonomy within the newly gained Austro-Hungarian provinces (Landes ). This unsolved problem becomes apparent when we compare the existing plans for the Institute with its achievements. The results were always somewhere in between, neither fully accomplished or finished, with significant discrepancy between what was projected and what was accomplished (Basler 1988). The defenders of the Institute-such as Dr. Gregor Cremosnik-praised its general concept, while others not supportive of the Institute's philosophy (like Dr. \'Ciro Truhelka, the Museum director, and Dr. Vladimir \'Corovi\'c) would not recognize its special meaning and reason for existence.

The other problem is more internal in nature: the dispute between overlapping areas of interest, insofar as the National Museum of Bosnia and Hercegovina was the only museum and scientific institution focusing on the heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Institute was seen as a double-edged intruder in the Museum's area of responsibility. Ironically, this has to do with the Institute's facilities, which occupied six rooms of the Museum's medieval archæ ology collection, and the overlapping jobs of Drs. Karl Patsch, Vladimir \'Corovi\'c, and later, Gregor Cremosnik, who were engaged both as Museum staff and Institute collaborators. In fact, the possible danger for the Museum was not unwanted intruders or deserters, but that of the increasing influence of political patronage on the Institute and the fear that a separate budget line would be allocated for its activities.

By these remarks, however, I do not want to underestimate the importance of the first purely scientific institute established in Bosnia and Herzegovina. On a contrary, I would like to praise and learn from the enthusiasm of its founder, Dr. Patsch, a historian and archæ ologist who-following the official political philosophy of Drang nach Osten (Eastward Movement), and at the same time fighting local, negative public opinion-managed not only to establish an impressive array of activities in the Institute but also to organize important special collections and resources for future researchers.

With all its facilities and activities, the Institute was designed to be the base or to serve as a point within a core institutional framework, together with the other scientific and cultural centres within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The idea of setting up the Institute apart from the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina was strongly supported by the influential Bretinger Commission, and the official newspapers in Vienna were full of information about this initiative-presenting Sarajevo as a new cultural, intellectual, and scientific centre in the Monarchy. But the reaction to these intentions in local newspapers in Bosnia and Herzegovina was quite the opposite.

The idea of promotion of Sarajevo as a new cultural centre, with the National Museum and the Institute as western-type institutions intended to raise the city to a European level, was rudely rejected by the editorial in the newspaper Work ( = Rad ) issued in Mostar. Its editorial reaction to news that the Provincial Government (Landesregierung für Bosnien und Herzegowina ) was planning to open a new Institute was as follows:

... In our poor country there are some districts where the ratio of elementary schools vs. police and military facilities is 4 to 30, while other districts do not have school facilities at all. Our money is still being spent on useless expeditions for “investigations of the Balkans”. We protest therefore that our money is used to establish institutions that serve other interests than our own. (Anonym. 1908a)

I shall return later to this text's reference to the problem of spending “our people's” money. An editorial in Serbian Word ( = Srpska rijec ) was even sharper:

... The era of Benjamin Kallay's rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina may be defined as the era of police-supported scientific research. Production of luxurious volumes and illustrated scholarly books and periodicals, well-organised scientific expeditions, and scientific conventions held in Glasinac and Ilidza, provided examples of the police regime's introduction of the slavery of science. Bosnia was conquered by such activities, and now the projection goes further East from Bosnia. A month after Erenthal's speech on the Novi Pazar Sandzak (district), news about the Institute for Balkan Studies was issued. (Anonym. 1908b)

A day later, an anonymous allegory appeared in the same newspaper under the title “Basket,” ironically developing the previous day's statements on the Institute: (“Basket” was the humorous subheading for Miscellanea, Unofficial News, or Gossip.)

... Since the time of its opening, the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its custodians and scholars began investigating the antiquities, plants, butterflies, birds, and vegetation in the countryside. But what interests them most are investigations in the Kosovo and Novi Pazar districts. With one eye they search for insects and butterflies, while they have the other eye on the territory. (Anonym. 1908c)

The idea of Sarajevo as a cultural and scientific center for Balkan studies was reactivated within certain political circles of Austro-Hungarian Monarchy during 1913 (Potiorek and Bilinski), with discussions of the opening of the university in Sarajevo. The role of Sarajevo as a center of Balkan Studies came within the context of future Austro-Hungarian occupation of Albania. (Kapidzi\'c 1961)



The Institute Library

Dr. Karl Patsch devoted special attention to the development of the Institute's library, manuscript collections, and archival documentary resources. The impressive plan for library collections also included the establishment of special thematic bibliographies, literary archives, and a corpus of inscriptions. The foundation of this was the Institute's specialized library. In 1917 the library had 6,038 books divided into several collections. (Petri\'c 1988)

A plan for editing bibliographies was developed, based on the Institute's own collections, as well as topical bibliographies compiled abroad. Three bibliographers were actively engaged in this task:

·
Ferdinand Velc, an academic painter and teacher of fine arts at the First Sarajevo Gymnasium, whose “Bibliography of Bosnia and Herzegovina”, and “Bibliography of Montenegro” were recently published (Velc 1989, 1990; \'Culi\'c 1976);
·
Dr. Pavao Mitrovi\'c, Institute assistant whose Bosnian-Herzegovinian bibliography was positively identified5 and;
·
Hamdija Kresevljakovi\'c, a student of history, whose published, partly bibliographical, study of publishing in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Turkish times was based on intensive use of the Institute library. (Kresevljakovi\'c 1912, 1920). The bibliographical section contains notes that refer to the holdings of the Institute library.
Franciscan Fra. Julijan Jeleni\'c was also engaged on this task, but this could not be confirmed from other document sources.6

The Institute edited a special series of publications under the general title “Toward a Recognition of the Balkan Peninsula” (Zur Kunder der Balkanhalbinsel ) in three series Travels and Observations (Reisen und Beobachtungen ), Sources and Investigations (Quellen und Forschungen ) and Inventories and Bibliographies (Inventarie und Bibliographie ). A total of 27 books was produced, mostly travelogues, all in German except one. Two of these books relate to the Literary Archive project-Vladimir \'Corovi\'c analysis of Mehmed Beg Kapetanovi\'c “Eastern Treasures” proverb collection (\'Corovi\'c V. 1911), and a joint Sejfudin Kemura and Vladimir \'Corovi\'c anthology of Bosnian Muslim authors 17-19 centry (Kemura 1912)

In 1916 Dr. Karl Dietrich from Leipzig, with Dr. Gregor Cremosnik from Ljubljana as the first professional secretary of the Institute, planned to start work on “Corpus Inscriptionum Slavorum meridionalium,” a corpus of South Slavic inscriptions from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina and other South Slavic lands. Dr. Dietrich stayed in Sarajevo a couple of months in early 1917, but he never accepted this assignment, while Dr. Cremosnik joined the Institute too late (in 1918) and became the Institute's first and last professional secretary, although he stayed in Bosnia most of his life.7

Two special collections study rooms were established, the first one dedicated to the Bosnian Croat poet Silvije Strahimir Kranjcevi\'c (1865-1908), and the other to the Bosnian Serb poet Aleksa Santi\'c (1868-1924). Kranjcevi\'c and Santi\'c were the most famous contemporary poets of their times. The collection of Kranjcevi\'c's works was described by Dr. Vladimir \'Corovi\'c (1927). From the Institute, this collection was moved first to the National Museum, and later to the Sarajevo Town Museum (Muzej grada Sarajeva ), and finally to the Museum of Theatre and Literature in Sarajevo (Muzej knjizevnosti i pozorisne umjetnosti ). The Aleksa Santi\'c study room was described by Dr. Gregor Cremosnik (1928). From the Institute (National Museum) this collection was transferred to the Museum of Literature in Mostar (Muzej knjizevnosti u Mostaru ).



Literary Archive of The Bosnians and Herzegovinians

In the State Archive of Bosnia and Herzegovina files related to the Südslawische Literarisches Archiv (South Slavic Literary Archive) three documents were located:

·
First, a document from June 30, 1910, describing Dr. Patsch's opinion of Dr. \'Corovi\'c as collaborator in the Institute, with reference to a possible job opportunity for \'Corovi\'c at the University of Belgrade (Serbia). (ABH ZMF 12.927/BH June 30, 1910 = ABH Grada 6:215);
·
Second, a very extensive elaboration from November 15, 1911 on the establishment, work, and plans of the Institute. (ABH ZMF 19.611/BH November 15, 1911 = ABH Grada 6:222; Kapidzi\'c 1964);

·
Third, a report on the Institute activities in 1910 and 1911, dated February 10, 1912. (ABH ZMF 2.302/BH February 10, 1912 = ABH Grada 6:223).
On the Literary Archive of the Bosnians and Herzegovinians ( = Knjizevni arhiv Bosanaca i Hercegovaca ), we do not find much information. There is none within the scope of the historical and literary-historical investigations so far done, except for interesting anecdotes reported in the local newspapers. The existence of the special archive collection was publicly announced by the Institute in the second half of 1909, and early 1910.

A declaration on the collection of literary sources of Bosnia and Herzegovina was published in seven Bosnian daily newspapers: Hrvatski dnevnik (Croatian Daily ), Musavat (Musavat ), Srpska rijec (Serbian Word ), Hrvatska zajednica (Croatian Community ) from Sarajevo and Rad (Work ) from Mostar, and Sarajevo Tagblatt (Sarajevo Daily News ) and Bosnische Post (The Bosnian Post ), which were published in German in Sarajevo. Such an extensive press campaign has not been recorded for any other project, or governmental or political campaign; yet, the declaration remained obscure and was completely unknown to all historians working on this period. The declaration is interesting from both historical and cultural points of view. Here is a complete translation of it:

All our researchers in literary history, regardless of the historical period investigated (except those focusing on medieval Dubrovnik) have vividly felt the difficulties and delays imposed by the lack of systematically collected archival material. Most of the materials used, such as drafts, copies, notes, annotations and works and letters is scattered, regardless of the author concerned, in various places, to be precise, in various distant places. In most cases the researcher, regardless of his wishes, can not get at them. For example, the letters, correspondence, and manuscripts of Ivan Franjo Juki\'c are scattered in Vienna, Zagreb, Fojnica, and Belgrad, not to mention the quantity of such material held in private collections. This is not the case solely for Ivan Franjo Juki\'c; it is more or less true for all our authors.

The Institute of Balkan Studies has decided to aim its program at what is closest to contemporary literary production in Bosnia and Herzegovina, both Croatian and Serbian, and to create a general literary archive for a limited area and period. Following this orientation last year, Institute purchased the study room (Arbeitzimmer ) of Silvije Strahimir Kranjcevi\'c, with all his private library and his papers, suggesting this model for all eminent literary authors and friends of the Institute. After some negotiation, the Institute achieved another visible success. Mr. Aleksa Santi\'c, one of the most influential intellectual figures of our times and a prominent poet whose reputation is beyond doubt, has promised to give his private library collection and study room with all his papers to the Institute. In addition to these study rooms, we will create a department for popular oral poetry in which we will gather all available material on heroic epic songs in a systematic reference collection on folk epic.

The interest already shown by intellectuals in this endeavor is great, and the Institute would like to thank the following individuals for their contributions to the archive; Mr. Dr. Tugomir Alaupovi\'c, Mr. Josip Milakovi\'c, Mr. Risto Ivanisevi\'c, Mr. Nikola Kasikovi\'c, Mr. Svetozar \'Corovi\'c, Mr. Rikard Katalini\'c Jeretov, Ms. Ella Kranjcevi\'c, Mr. Dr. Jefto Dedijer, and Mr. Gjorgje Cokorilo. We would like to believe that all individuals who understand the importance of our intent will help us most generously with advice and contributions. We would also like to emphasize to our friends that the Institute is willing to support financially the most valuable contributions.

The gift of Svetozar \'Corovi\'c (IBF Acten No. 8 /1910) mentioned in the declaration comprised his theatre piece (IBF SLA No. 1), Aleksa Santi\'c's “Poetry” (IBF SLA No.  2), and two manuscripts of poems, one by Avdo Karabegovi\'c Hasanbegova (IBF SLA No. 15 and 16) originally edited posthumously by Svetozar \'Corovi\'c (Karabegovi\'c 1902), and the other by Osman  \mathchar¢26muDiki\'c (IBF SLA No. 14).



The Oriental Manuscript Collection of the Institute

One of the Institute's activities on which we have insufficient data is its Oriental manuscript collection. Newly discovered archive documents, containing 517 single sheets of “Institute Receipts of Library Acquisitions” (Richtungen ), covering the period from 1904 to 1910, could give us more information on this (IBF - Richtungen 1904-1910). Information on the Oriental collection was found in contemporary newspaper articles reporting on Institute activities.

·
The Munich-based Allgemeine Zeitung (General News ) from February 1909 states that the Institut had 200 Persian, Arabic and Turkish manuscripts (Handscriften ). (Wirt 1909a) This article was reprinted in Agramer Tagblatt (Zagreb Daily News ) a few days later (Wirt 1909b).
·
In May 1909, Hamdija Kresevljakovi\'c, the famous Bosnian scholar and historian, then a young student of history at age 20, reported in an article published in the Sarajevo magazine Bosnjak ( = The Bosniaks ) that the Institute had 500 Arabic, Turkish, and Persian books. The term “book" was obviously used to denote bound Oriental manuscript or codices (Kresevljakovi\'c 1909).
·
In a Report to the Joint Ministry of Finance from 1911, on the origin, development, and activities of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Institute for Balkan Studies, it is stated that the manuscript collection had 812 Slavic, Greek, Arabic, Persian and Turkish codices. The same information could be found in another Report to the Joint Ministry from 1912, on realization of the Institute's plans for 1910 and 1911 (ABH ZMF No. 19.611/BH November 15, 1911 = ABH Grada 6:222; ABH ZMF No.  2.302/BH February 10, 1912 = ABH Grada 6:223).
·
The next newspaper report on the Oriental collection was in 1913 in Wiener Zeitung ( = Vienna News ), also reprinted in Sarajevo Bosnische Post (The Bosnian Post ). According to this note, the Institute at that time was in possession of 1,200 Slavic, Persian, Turkish, and Arabic codices (Petterman 1913).


Spending “our People's Money''

In the period from 1904 to 1911 (e.g., from 20 April 1907, when the budget for collection development was announced, to the end of 1910), the Institute had on 115 occasions purchased 580 different manuscript items. Expenditure for these acquisitions was 3,407.63 Crowns.

Most of the items were purchased from Sheik Sejfudin Eff. Kemura (total of 3,017.6 Cr.) e.g., 89 percent of all acquisitions. M. Hadzi\'c (49.20 Cr.), S. Mufti\'c (122.50 Cr.), M. Salihagi\'c (46.34 Cr.), and other manuscript dealers were paid a total of 172.03 Crowns.

For printed book acquisitions, the Institute spent 4,592.27 Crowns. Most of them were acquired from Mirko Brayer Antiquariat in Zagreb (702.5 Cr.) and from Pacher & Kisi\'c Bookshop in Mostar (332.31 Cr.). From the private collection of Hamdija Kresevljakovi\'c, books with a total cost of 527.8 Crowns were acquired-twice as much as from all of the other individuals who sold books to the Institute, the latter which totalled 208.88 Crowns.

At the same time, for all other purposes and expenses, a total of 2,662.72 Crowns was spent, meaning that 73 per cent of the total Institute budget of 10,852.42 Crowns was spent for acquisition of books and manuscripts. That is what the financial records say about how “our people's money''-as the editorial of Serbian Word phrased it-was spent...

Unfortunately, Institute receipts for library acquisition from 1911 to 1917 were not found, so it was impossible to reconstruct the entire record of acquisitions by the Institute's Oriental collection. These receipts and documentation of acquisitions show that Dr. Patsch was constantly concerned about these activities, so much so that at one point he demanded a special budget for book and manuscript acquisitions. The manuscripts collection will

substantially grow as a consequence of the War, and people will easily sell inherited materials, such as manuscripts and other valuable items''

concluded one of the reports presented to the Government. (ABH ZMF No. 5929/BH 1913)

With this report from the beginning of 1913, the second memorandum on governmental support to the Institute, Dr. Patsch showed he had not abandoned the idea of the development of the Institute and the promotion of Sarajevo as a center for scholarship in the Balkan Peninsula. The estimated budget for such a proposal was 60,000 Crowns. This figure included capital investment for the new Institute's facilities, but it would be unlikely that the allocated budget for development of library collections would be less than 50 percent.



Acquisition of Library Material

Acquisition of books was not always a simple task. Here is an interesting correspondence concerning this matter.

Vienna, June 4, 1910
To Dr. Vladimir \'Corovi\'c, Institute Secretary
Dear Sir,
If I was not in such a terrible financial situation, I would gladly donate these books to the Institute library instead of demanding 60 Crowns for them. This is my lowest price.
Sincerely Yours, Vaso Stanisi\'c (IBF Acten No. 33 June 4, 1910)

Vienna July 11, 1910
To: Vladimir \'Corovi\'c
The price you are willing to pay indeed surprised me. I know a case where the same books (Branko Radicevi\'c and Dositej Obradovi\'c) were bought for 50 Crowns, and you are willing to pay me 35 Crowns only for Obradovi\'c. The third book by  \mathchar¢26muDuro Danici\'c I have sent you without asking for money, but only to fulfill your wish to have that particular item.
I am leaving to your own judgement a proposed price of 35 Cr., but I am most certain that Mr. Patsch will gladly give me 50 Cr. But anyway, if by Tuesday, June 14, you do not hear from me, I will kindly ask you to send me the money, and I will return a receipt after that. And-trust me-I would never ever have offered these books to you if I were not in a momentary financial crisis as I am.
Sincerely Vas. Stanisi\'c (IBF Acten No. 36 - July 11, 1910)

The receipts shows that three items mentioned in this correspondence were bought for 35 Crowns: Dositej Obradovi\'c Autobiografija (1783 edition), Branko Radicevi\'c Pjesme (1847 edition) and  \mathchar¢26muDuro Danici\'c Gramatika . Money was transferred to Vienna on June 19, 1910. (IBF Acten No. 123 July 19, 1910)

Stolac 30.10.1912
Dear Mr. \'Corovi\'c
I have discovered some rare and interesting items for your Balkan Institute library. I hope that you will be most generous and liberal. Please reply to me as soon as possible regarding how much can I hope to get for the following items:
Whole run of Zora dalmatinska ( = Dalmatian Dawn ), for the years 1845, 46, 47, 48 and 49, meaning from the first volume. Please specify offer for the set and for the individual volumes separately.
For Grlica - Kalendar za 1873. godinu ( = Pigeon 1873 calendar ).
Remaining yours sincerely,
Julije Makanec (IBF Acten No. 156a October 30, 1912)

Not knowing what to answer to this offer, Dr. Patsch contacted his Zagreb vendor and received the following reply:

Croatian (Slavic) Scientific Antiquarian
Mirko Breyer Zagreb
To: Mr. Karl Patsch
... Zora dalmatinska 1845-49, I have only incomplete volumes 2 to 4 for 100 Crowns; for Kalendar Grlica 1837 the price is 6 to 8 Crowns (IBF Acten No.  159 November 12.1912)



The Closing of the Institute

Director of the National Museum Dr. \'Ciro Truhelka, on November 10, 1918, addressed the newly established People's Government for Bosnia and Herzegovina ( = Narodna vlada za Bosnu i Hercegovinu ) in a memorandum titled “Establishment of the old order in the National Museum,” and suggested the following:

... It is most important that the Peoples Government should order the Institute, without any exception, to hand over to the Museum all of the items acquired in Bosnia for future care and use. The items of particular importance are Turkish and other Oriental manuscripts acquired in Sarajevo, for which the Institute has had no skilled person able to read them, while the Museum already has an archive collection with a skilled Orientalist who will take care of all manuscripts and other archive documents.

The statement before the conclusion on this subject, in the Government's reply (dated November 27, 1918) was:

... Without doubt, for the Peoples Government, the Bosnian-Herzegovinian Institute for Balkan Studies is a totally non-essential institution for us, even if we project its future scientific growth into a completely new dimension.

The final conclusion was clear:

... we shall abandon the Institute, and its collection and property should be transferred to the National Museum. (ABH NV, Prez. no. 13.673/ 1918 = ABH Grada 6:249)

That was a death sentence for the Institute. The text following this conclusion was a short analysis and remarks on the existence of the Institute in the “new era,” pointing toward the fact that ethnic Croat, Serbian, and Slovenian scholars would affiliate with the existing Universities and Academies of Science in Zagreb (Croatia), Belgrad (Serbia), and Ljubljana (Slovenia) in the newly united Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kraljevina Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca ) and that Sarajevo's Institute as a representative of Austro-Hungarian Drang nach Osten should definitively die. This was a verbatim statement, as published in the editorial of Zagreb News ( = Zagrebacke novosti ) eight years before, under title “Sarajevo as a Yugoslav cultural Center”:

... Our Croat population in the South Slavic lands have urgent and important problems and questions to concentrate on, and the question of establishing a new cultural center, when Zagreb is already such a centre for Slavs, is obviously irrelevant (Anonym. 1910).

Dr. Gregor Cremosnik, the last formal secretary of the Institute after Dr. Vladimir \'Corovi\'c, left the position of Institute director (made immediately necessary by the Peoples Government decision) and lamented the destiny of the Institute in an article published in Croatian Land ( = Hrvatska njiva ) in July 1921:

... The total closure of the Institute and abandonment of the idea of the Institute could be listed in the same category with the actions and behavior we have witnessed during the transition period, when people have destroyed police stations and anything else that remind them of the previous regime ... It is more than obvious that we are still using Austrian military barracks for our own purposes; it is also very obvious that we are using Austrian rifles and cannons for our own purposes, but it is also true that we did not apply the same principle of utility in the handling of a scientific institution like the Institute for Balkan Studies ... (Cremosnik 1921)

An editorial footnote to this article suggested that the property of the Institute should in the future be divided between institutions in Zagreb, Belgrad, and Sarajevo. The division is obviously an option in cases when the “new regime” as proprietor does not know what to do with an inherited institution, and for pragmatic or political reasons, they deliberately change or redirect its orientation. The property of the Institute (library, manuscript collection, archive) were formally given to the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina in early 1919, but this was just the beginning. The story of the Institute's dissolution continues under another “new regime” after World War II (1946, 1950, 1962 and 1965), among the institutions in Sarajevo (Oriental institute, City Museum, Center for Balkan Studies of the Academy of Science and Arts), although the Institute was officially closed in 1918 (ABH NV 13.637/BH = ABH Grada 6:249), and another such decision was reissued on December 3, 1946 ( ABH MP No. 17.639, December 3, 1946).

The modern art gallery of the Institute was merged with the art collection of the Museum to become the core collection for the Art Gallery of Bosnia and Herzegovina, (Umjetnicka galerija Bosne i Hercegovine ), established October 11, 1946. Besides this core collection, a huge quantity of geographical maps, blueprints, photo plates, postcards, and other minor printed materials remains in the Institute.

In the files of the Joint Ministry of Finance from the year before the closing of the Institute, a letter from Dr. Patsch was found, demanding an extra subsidy of 8,000 to 10,000 Crowns for purchasing the private collection of the late Sejfudin Eff. Kemura, who was a major provider of manuscripts for the Institute (ABH ZMF No. 16.081/BH September 26, 1917 = ABH Grada 6:239).

Neither World War I, nor the obvious collapse of the Monarchy, created obstacles for Dr. Patsch, who continued to hope and act as a passionate builder of his collection. For the researches to come ...

The Institute's Oriental manuscript collection remained in the National Museum. During 1942 it was catalogued, and in 1944 it was physically merged with so called “Turkish Archive,” a huge collection af archival material covering the period up to 1878, which was handed over to the Museum Library by the Provincial Government (Landesregierung ) in 1914 when the Museum was moved to a new building (Spaho 1942).

This composite collection was transferred on May 22, 1950 to the newly established Oriental Institute in Sarajevo as its core collection. This collection was totally destroyed in an artillery attack on May 18, 1992. Another “new era” was afraid that the truth as a legacy in old manuscripts might spoil the perfect and final division of the Land of Bosnia and Herzegovina.



Works Cited

Archive sources

ABH   Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine ( = Archive of Bosnia and Herzegovina
   in Sarajevo) collections:
ABH ZMF   Zajednicko ministarstvo finansija = Joint Ministry of Finance
   (1878-1918)
ABH NV   Narodna Vlada za Bosnu i Hercegovinu
    = Peoples Government for Bosnia and Herzegovina (1918-1919)
ABH MP   Ministarstvo prosvete Bosne i Hercegovine
    = Ministry of Education of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1946-1948)
   Grada Kapidzi\'c Hamdija (ur.) “Naucne ustanove
   u Bosni i Hercegovini za vrijeme austrougarske uprave.”
   Grada za proucavanje politickih kulturnih i socijalnoekonomskih pitanja
   iz proslosti Bosne i Hercegovine (XIX i XX vijek). Tom 6. Sarajevo :
   Arhiv Bosne i Hercegovine, 1973
IBF   Institut für Balkansforschungen (Institute for Balkan Studies)
   Acten 1902-1904, 1905-1911
   Richtungen 1904-1910
IBF SLA   Südslawisches Literarisches Archiv (South Slavic Literary Archive)



Published sources

(Anonym.)
1908a“Institut za proucavanje Balkana u Sarajevu.”Rad (Mostar), 5. mart
1908 (18. mart 1908), god. 2, br. 76, str. 1
1908b“Institut za proucavanje Balkana.” Srpska rijec (Sarajevo), 14. mart
1908 (27. mart 1908), god. 4, br. 59, str. 1
1908c“Zembilj.” Srpska rijec (Sarajevo), 15. mart 1908 (28. mart 1908),
god. 4, br. 60, str. 3
1910“Sarajevo kao jugoslavensko kulturno srediste.” Novosti (Zagreb),
25. Oktobar 1910, god. 4, br. 288, str. 1
Bakarsi\'c, Kemal
1990“Opis Bosansko-hercegovacke bibliografije Pavla Mitrovi\'ca.”
Bibliotekarstvo (Sarajevo), 1990, god. 36, str. 34-43
1997“Zbirka orijentalnih rukopisa Bosanskohercegovackog instituta za
proucavanje Balkana.” In: Dzevad Juzbasi\'c (ur.) Prilozi historiji
Sarajeva . Sarajevo : Istorijski institut, 1997, str. 217-224

Basler,  \mathchar¢26muDuro
1988“Institut za istrazivanje Balkana.” In: Vlajko Palevstra (ur.)
Spomenica stogodisnjice Zemaljskog muzeja Bosne i Hercegovine
u Sarajevu. Sarajevo : Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine, 1988,
str. 392-395
Cigar, Norman
1995Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of Ethnic Cleansing . Texas A & M
University Press, 1995
\'Corovi\'c, Svetozar
1909“U mraku. Drama u tri cina. (Pocetak).” Srpski knjizevni glasnik
(Beograd), (1. jula 1909) Knjiga 23, br. 1, str 15-30
\'Corovi\'c, Vladimir
1910a“Knjizevni arhiv Bosanaca i Hercegovaca.” Hrvatski dnevnik
(Sarajevo), subota 12. januar 1910, god. 5, br. 17, str. 5; Musavat
(Sarajevo), 22. januar 1910, god. 5, br. 6, str. 3; Srpska rijec
(Sarajevo), 9. (22) januar 1910, god. 6, br. 5, str. 3; Hrvatska
zajednica (Sarajevo), 23. januar 1910. god. 2, br. 6, str. 2; Rad
(Mostar), 16. (29) januar 1910, str. 2
1910b“Bosnisch-Hercegovinisches Literarisches Arhiv.” Sarajevoer
Tagblatt (Sarajevo), 2. februar 1910, Jh. 3, nr. 27, str 2.;
Bosnische Post (Sarajevo), 3. februar 1910, Jh. 27, nr. 26, str. 1
1911 “Mehmed Beg Kapetanovi\'c : knjizevna slika.” Zur Kunde der
Balkanhalbinsel III, Inventare und Bibliographien , Heft 1.,
Sarajevo 1911
1927“Literartura Silvija Strahimira Kranjcevi\'ca.” Grada za povijest
literature (Zagreb), 1927, knjiga 10, str. 1-33.
Cremosnik Gregor
1921“Zavod za proucavanje Balkana u Sarajevu.” Hrvatska njiva (Zagreb), 9.
juli 1921, god. 5, br. 27 , str. 419-421
1928“Radna soba pokojnog Alekse Santi\'ca.” Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja
Bosne i Hercegovine (Sarajevo), 1928, god. 40, sv. 2, str. 161-164
\'Culi\'c, Branko
1976“Ferdinand Velc i jegova bibliografija Bosne i Hercegovine.”
Bibliotekarstvo (Sarajevo), 1976, god. 22, br. 1-2, str. 97-109
Kapidzi\'c, Hamdija
1961“Austrougarski politicari i pitanje osnivanja univerziteta u Sarajevu
1913. godine.” Glasnik arhiva i arhivskih radnika Bosne i
Hercegovine (Sarajevo), 1961. god. 1, br. 1, str. 293-298
1964“Institut za istrazivanje Balkana, namjera i planovi.” Radovi
Filozofskog fakulteta (Sarajevo), 1964, knjiga 2, str. 7-51.
Karabegovi\'c,
  Avdo Hasanbegov
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Kemura, Sejfudin
1912Sejfudin Kemura and Vladimir \'Corovi\'c “Serbokroatische
Dichtungen bosnischer Moslims aus dem XVII, XVIII und XIX.
Jahrhundert.” Zur Kunde der Balkanhalbinsel II, Quellen und
Forschungen Heft 2., Sarajevo, 1912
Kovaci\'c, Ante
  Slavko
1980Bibliografija franjevaca Bosne Srebrene-prilog povijesti hrvatske
knjizevnosti i kulture . Sarajevo : Narodna i univerzitetska
biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, 1991
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  Hamdija
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1909 god. 19, br. 21, str. 3
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1920“Stamparije u Bosni za vrijeme turske uprave 1527-1878.” Grada za
povijest hrvatske knjizevnosti (Zagreb : JAZU), 1920, knjiga 9,
str. 1-30
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(Pavao)
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sv.5, str. 19-21
Petterman, R. E.
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in Sarajevo”. Bosnische Post (Sarajevo), 26. maj 1913, Jh. 30,
no. 118 str. 1-2; 27. maj 1913, Jh. 30, no. 119, str. 1-2
Petri\'c, Ljubinka
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i Hercegovine u Sarajevu. Sarajevo : Zemaljski muzej Bosne i
Hercegovine 1988, str. 392-395

Riedlmayer, Andras
1998“Convivencia under Fire. Genocide and Book-burrning in Bosnia.”
International Conference `Bosnian Paradigm', Sarajevo November
19-21, 1998
(Available at http://www.applicom.com/manu/ingather.htm)
Spaho, Fehim
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Zemaljski muzej, 1942
Santi\'c, Aleksa
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Velc, Ferdinand
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Biblioteka Bosne i Hercegovine, 1989
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Crnojevi\'c (Cetinje), knjiga 19, 1990
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1909, Jh. 34, nr. 43 , str. 3

Footnotes:

f Publication note: Previous draft published in Bosnian (Bakarsi\'c 1995). Additional research was sponoserd by the International Forum Bosnia (Sarajevo) and The Donia Vakuf Foundation (La Jolla CA, USA).
Author note: I would like to thank Mr. Andras Riedlmayer (Cambridge MA, USA) and Mr. Stephen Schwatz (San Francisco CA, USA) for careful readings and suggestions.

1The term denial is used according to Norman Cigar's analysis of the genocide in Bosnia and Herzogovina. (Cigar 1995). This was just another instance of denial

2Institut für Balkansforschungen (IBF), Akten 1902-1904 and Akten 1905-1911 , a set of 4 boxes 14 x 5 in.

3S.L.A. is an acronym for Südslawisches Literarisches Archiv ; IBF-SLA No. 1, Svetozar \'Corovi\'c's drama In the Darkness ( = U mraku ), partly published (\'Corovi\'c, S 1909). The premiere of this play was in Mostar, June 1, 1998 (cf. http://www.soros.org.ba/~cuprija for details); IBF-SLA No. 2, Aleksa Santi\'c, Pjesme ( = Poems ), an autograph manuscript of the second edition (Santi\'c 1902).

4The existence of the Institute for Balkan Studies became known mainly thanks to Hamdija Kapidzi\'c, who wrote an essay treating the Institute in terms of an intriguing episode from 1917 involving a private suit between Dr. Karl Patsch and Dr. Vladimir \'Corovi\'c. This had to do with the character of \'Corovi\'c's involment in the Institute. Other inside stories of the Institute and its development were not sufficiently elaborated (Kapidzi\'c 1964). Kapidzi\'c briefly mentioned the Südslawisches Literarisches Archiv as the “Yugoslav literary archive,'' unintentionally obscuring its basic concept. (This is “a typographical error'' problem; Südslawische = South Slavic = juzno slavenski , vs. jugoslovenski = Yugoslav, as in the country of Yugoslavia.)

5Branko \'Culu\'c's article on Ferdinand Velc brings into the footnote an ambiguous statement of Pavao Mitrovi\'c from 1971 on his involvement in the Institute 50 years before (\'Culi\'c 1976). I compared this with his early article “The Question of Yugoslav Bibliography” (Mitrovi\'c 1917) and found confirmation relating to his bibliographic activities. From this point it was not so hard to find and identify his bibliography in the manuscript collection of the National Museum. (Bakarsi\'c 1990)

6According to a statement of Pavle Mitrovi\'c (1917), the first part of his bibliography published in 1912 was supported by the Institute, while the second part remained an unpublished manuscript. (Kovaci\'c 1991)

7The idea, coverage, and methodology for this project were taken from Theodor Mommssen Corpus Inscriptorum Latinorum . Dr. Karl Patsch was one of Mommssen's collaborators on the CIL volumes focusing on the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia. The scope, goals and budget were given in ABH ZMF No. 1472/BH, January 19, 1917 = ABH Grada 6:237.

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