Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.21857/m3v76t16wy
Letters to Matija Smodek by Franjo Rački (1857–1872)
Milan Radošević
; Institute for Historical and Social Sciences of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Rijeka, Regional Unit in Pula, Pula, Croatia
*
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
This paper includes – in addition to brief biographical notes – four letters written
by Franjo Rački to Matija Smodek in the period between 1857 and 1872, unpublished
so far and kept at the National and University Library in Zagreb. Franjo Rački’s letters are a source of information regarding his historiographic work in the libraries and
archives of Rome, which was crucial in the context of his formation as historian and
leader of the modern Croatian critical historiography. The letters moreover offer a valuable insight into the development of libraries in Zagreb, and particularly as regards the
process of keeping record of the book material belonging to the State National Museum
– a task Matija Smodek was entrusted with. This cataloguization, which Rački ordered
in his capacity of the President of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts, was of
key importance for organizing and systematizing the holdings of the Museum Library,
which was to become an integral part of the newly established University Library.
Keywords
Franjo Rački; Matija Smodek; St. Jerome’s Institute; State National Museum; Rome; Zagreb; Senj
Hrčak ID:
333931
URI
Publication date:
21.7.2025.
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