Manuscripts and Printed Works

The founder and first director of what is now Salzburg Museum, Vinzenz Maria Süß (1802–1868), began collecting Salisburgensia early on – printed works, manuscripts, sheet music, maps, plans, and prints relating to Salzburg art and history. The museum library’s first printed catalogue, published in 1870, lists numerous such objects on a total of 117 printed pages. From the end of the nineteenth century onwards, further items were added to the collection, such as posters, small prints (invitations), bookplates, obituaries and funeral cards, coats of arms, and autographs. A collection of realia and personalia was also established. In addition, there were numerous bequests of prominent individuals associated with Salzburg (artists, writers, musicians, etc.). Since then, the collection has been expanded through donations and acquisitions, but reduced again due to the effects of war and deaccessions (sales, transfers to other museums and archives).

The largest holdings in the ‘Manuscripts and Printed Works’ Collection are the theatre programmes of today’s Salzburg State Theatre and the Stadttheater in Hallein (approx. 23,000 items), followed by obituaries and funeral cards (approx. 22,000 items in total), posters (approx. 14,000 items), and small prints (approx. 9,000 items) grouped together in the ‘Invitations’ collection. The manuscripts and autographs currently comprise approximately 5,000 catalogued objects. In addition, there are handwritten scores and printed sheet music (approx. 3,000 items) and smaller collections of bookplates, coats of arms (heraldry), bookmarks, bags, business cards, and calendars (approx. 5,000 items in total). The collection of realia and personalia comprises approx. 200 archive boxes and contains research materials (including newspaper clippings, correspondence, etc.) on specific topics and individuals.

Among the most significant holdings are the bequests and collections of prominent individuals associated with the city and province of Salzburg – including artists, composers and musicians, writers, and scholars. The artists’ bequests include those of painters and/or graphic artists Anton Faistauer, Felix Albrecht Harta, Tony Angerer, and Wilhelm Kaufmann. The bequests of composers August Brunetti-Pisano and Joseph Messner are also part of the collection, as are those of folk musician Tobias (Tobi) Reiser Sr. and opera singer (Kammersänger) Richard Mayr and his wife Maria (Marie). Of particular significance is also a (partial) bequest of the poet Georg Trakl (Geipel Collection) as well as a collection related to the architect Martin Knoll. Finally, there are personal collections related to former staff members of what is now Salzburg Museum, including the archaeologists Martin Hell and Kurt Willvonseder (museum director from 1955 to 1968), the folklorist Friederike Prodinger (museum director from 1969 to 1978), the art historian Franz Fuhrmann, and the historian and Mozart researcher Friedrich Breitinger.