[MSN] Baden mss sale

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Ton,
 In reference to the letter (reproduced below)  of Dr Alex Byrne, IFLA
President , I have the following question:
If, in the words of the article, the mss are “major
treasures TAKEN from monasteries in 1803” and if “The
majority of manuscripts come from the libraries of
monasteries in the Black Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and
Lake Constance and most were acquired when the
monastic libraries were  EXPROPRIATED following
secularisation in 1803”, then why don’t the monastic
groups have a legal claim to have the mss returned to
them? [Capitalization  added by me for emphasis].
Cliff
C.J. Scheiner.

--- Everett Wilkie <ewilkie at IX.NETCOM.COM> wrote:
> IFLA recently released this statement on the
> proposed sale of manuscripts
> from the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe.
> --ECW
> +++++++++++++
> 3 October 2006
> International librarians concerned about manuscripts
> of Baden-Württemberg
>
>  Dr Alex Byrne, President of the International
> Federation of Library
> Associations and Institutions (IFLA), expressed
> dismay when he heard of the
> planned sale of the manuscripts of the House of
> Baden by the provincial
> government of Baden-Württemberg.
>
>  He said: "The international library and archival
> community is shocked to
> hear of the proposal of the Government of
> Baden-Württemberg to sell all the
> works acquired before 1872 - some 3500 out of a
> total of 4200 volumes - from
> the manuscript collection of the Badische
> Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe.
> This incomparable collection includes major
> treasures taken from monasteries
> in 1803 and documents a thousand years of commerce
> and cultural development
> in Europe.  It is not only a treasure for
> Baden-Württemberg and Germany but
> part of the world heritage.  It must be protected."
>
>  The collection includes prachtmanuscripts, an
> illuminated Book of Hours
> belonging to Archduke Christoph I of Baden (1490),
> the prayer book of
> Susanna von Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach medieval
> lectionaries from the
> scriptorium of the monastery at Reichenau, and the
> Gospel of St. Peter (ca.
> 1200).  The majority of manuscripts come from the
> libraries of monasteries
> in the Black Forest, the Upper-Rhine, and Lake
> Constance and most were
> acquired when the monastic libraries were
> expropriated following
> secularisation in 1803.  They record the development
> of religion and society
> in the region.
>
>  It is understood that the sale is intended to
> finance the preservation of
> the Salem castle, the last castle of the house of
> Baden, and its ongoing
> maintenance.  While this is desirable, it must not
> be done at the expense of
> this important collection of manuscripts.
>
>  The International Federation of Library
> Associations and Institutions calls
> on  the Government of Baden-Württemberg to abandon
> this proposal and renew
> its commitment to the preservation of the history of
> Baden-Württemberg as
> documented in the manuscript collection of the
> Badische Landesbibliothek.
>
>  The International Federation of Library
> Associations and Institutions is
> the leading international body representing the
> interests of library and
> information services and their users.  It is the
> global voice of the library
> and information profession.  http://www.ifla.org.
>
> Contact:
>
> Dr Alex Byrne, IFLA President, Tel +61 2 9514 1465,
> Email
> alex.byrne at uts.edu.au
>
> Dr Peter Lor, IFLA Secretary General, Tel +31 70 31
> 40 884, Email
> ifla at ifla.org