Katalóg Fondu Inkunábul Slovenskej národnej knižnice

The publication Catalogue of the Incunabula Collection of the Slovak National Library is the result of several years of research by Daniela Škulová and Martin Baloga, devoted to documenting one of the Slovak National Library’s most important historical collections. The authors have sought to record in detail the unique characteristics of individual copies, including manuscript annotations, ownership inscriptions, and previously little-documented descriptions of illumination and bookbindings.

One of the principal aims of the catalogue is to contribute to the protection and preservation of these important artefacts of book culture, as detailed material descriptions help guard against misidentification and theft. At the same time, the recording of copy-specific features provides researchers with valuable information not only about the books themselves but also about the historical libraries to which they once belonged. Such evidence is invaluable for reconstructing dispersed collections and tracing the history of individual volumes—from their printing, binding, and decoration through successive ownership to their present location. The study of these features also sheds light on the work of other book artisans, including illuminators and bookbinders active in the territory of present-day Slovakia.

The catalogue provides a comprehensive bibliographical description of all printed works preserved in the Incunabula Collection of the Slovak National Library. Unlike earlier catalogues devoted exclusively to incunabula, it also includes post-incunabula and books printed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. This broader approach reflects the integrated nature of the collection, in which later works are often bound together with incunabula or were historically incorporated into the collection.

For the first time, 206 individual editions are described in detail, including 114 incunabula and 92 books printed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries. Altogether, the catalogue contains 641 bibliographical records covering 803 printed items. To facilitate research, it is equipped with a comprehensive system of indexes, including chronological, author and contributor, topographical-typographical, provenance, and shelf-mark concordance indexes. Significantly, it is the first catalogue in Slovak bibliography to include a dedicated index of bookbindings.