Summary
The Islamic Manuscripts Oskar Rescher Sold to the National Library of the Czech Republic between 1926 and 1946
Oskar Rescher was an active Orientalist of the 20th century and, apart from his scientific studies and the duties he had taken on in various institutions, was engaged in the book trade for many years, having sold manuscripts as well as printed books to institutions in the West since 1913. This trade activity lasted practically until his death. One of the institutions to which Rescher sold manuscripts was the National Library of the Czech Republic in Prague.
Home to approximately 15,000 manuscripts, the library contains a total of 687 volumes of manuscripts in Turkish, Arabic and Persian. Of these, 245 had been included in the collection through Rescher. However, the regulations the library placed, as well as the requests it voiced, must have been so unsuitable to the dynamics of the trade network Rescher had established and speedily managed with other libraries that he had attempted to cease affairs at the start of the trade relationship. The manuscript trade between Rescher and Prague took place between 1926 and 1946 with interruptions.
I have examined the manuscripts Rescher sold to the National Library of the Czech Republic through my studies that have been carried out in the library’s Department of Manuscripts and Early Printed Books and the National Library Archive, prepared a list of manuscripts, and included the obtained results in the article. This study also discusses the prominent features of the manuscripts and presents the manuscript list at the end.
Keywords
Osman Reşer, manuscript trade,National Library of the Czech Republic.