Last year’s notable acquisitions A journey through our special collections

Every year the National Library acquires fascinating new items to add to its special collections. The year 2022 was no exception, and we are delighted to present some of the items that have sparked the interest of our experts and collection managers.

From precious manuscripts to contemporary postcards, posters and advertisements dating from the 18^th and 19^th centuries, these notable acquisitions take you on a journey through time. They bear witness to our ongoing commitment to preserving the national heritage, ensuring its long-term survival, enhancing its value and making it accessible to the public.

Manuscripts Collection

In March 2022, Mrs Josannette Loutsch-Weydert, wife of the deceased Dr Jean-Claude Loutsch, donated her husband’s specialist library to the BnL. The collection comprises 43 manuscripts, of which three are earlier than 1500 (an Italian armorial from the start of the 15th century; an armorial of the families of Burgundy, Champagne, Barrois, Vermandois, Picardy, Ponthieu, Artois and Flanders written in around 1490, and the famous Armorial Miltenberg compiled in around 1492) and twelve of which pre-date 1628, at least for their first stratum, including the extraordinary Armorial de Lorraine from the end of the 16th century owned by Archduke Maximilian Francis and two libri amicorum from Hainault nobles, Philippe de Mérode (died 1605) and Jean-Guillaume de Spangen (died 1618).

Ephemera Collection

The BnL acquired this advertising poster from the chicory factory Auguste de Saint-Hubert (1843‒1908), a business established in 1834, located in Rue du Nord (Schiggerisgaass) in Luxembourg (undated), in March 2022. Coffee substitutes such as durian coffee, malt coffee or chicory coffee were not just an affordable product in a time of crisis, but were highly popular since the 19^th century. The coffee substitute from the Auguste de Saint Hubert company had won a number of awards, for instance at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1889. In Luxembourgish, “chicory” translates as “Schigg(e)ri”, meaning that the road had been named in the vernacular language after the producer’s coffee substitute.

Collection of Cards, Maps, Atlases and Views

In 2022, the BnL acquired nine sheets of Leo Belgicus to complete the collection of items that the BnL had already managed to acquire in the past.

The Leo Belgicus is one of the most famous cartographic curiosities of all time. The original format, going back to the Austrian Michael von Aitzing (De Leone Belgico, ejusque topographica atque historica descriptione liber … Michaele Aitsingero auctore, Cologne: G. Campensis, 1583), represents the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands in the form of a lion rampant, looking to the East, whose back follows the line of the coast. The Luxembourg of that time (often accompanied by Metz and Trier) is typically contained in the left front paw. The work where the “lion” is printed for the first time gives details of the wars of independence conducted by the Netherlands against the yoke of the Habsburgs.

The symbolism is readily explained: the lion is considered as the strongest of the animals, and the Belgians were, according to the judgement of Julius Caesar in his Gallic Wars, the fiercest of the Gallic tribes.

While all the parts taken individually are exceptional, the version executed by H. Hondius (1630) is noteworthy – only two copies exist in the public collections in the entire world (in Koblenz and Paris); as is the sheet probably engraved by H. Gerritsz in around 1611, of which no other copy is known; and the map attributed to C. J. Visscher (c. 1611 ‒ c. 1621), which in addition to the province of Luxembourg also contains, in its right border, a view of the fortress of Luxembourg, unknown elsewhere.

Posters and Postcards Collection

This postcard, illustrated by Alan Johnston, represents two apples of the “Lëtzebuerger Triumph” variety, along with apple blossom. The verso provides detailed explanations about this variety of apple, and the longevity of its trees. The card, published by Natur- a Geopark Mëllerdall in 2017, came into the collections of the BnL as a legal deposit.

Cedom Music Collection

The Troaterbattien Collection documents the history of a wind ensemble of around 30 amateur and professional musicians, who have interpreted a repertoire that could be described as a pot-pourri of popular music. Mainly comprising musical works and shows by Luxembourgish composers and arrangers, the Troaterbattien Collection also includes financial documents, concert programmes and various objects.

Iconography Collection

In 2022, the BnL acquired an exceptional set of engravings, prints and two artist's books by Misch Da Leiden, a Luxembourg artist, for whom the Summer of 69 exhibition at the Villa Vauban (November 2021 to May 2022) has been 2021 to May 2022) was partially dedicated to.

▪ This is an edited extract from our 2022 activity report, available for download on our publications page. Learn more