Written materials collection
The written materials collection includes manuscripts, documents, maps, plans, printed matter, postcards and books from the 14th century to the foundation of the Republic of Latvia 18 November, 1918.
The collection includes documents and correspondence of private individuals, documents characterising economic matters, including agrarian history, some documents of religious congregations, and other written records describing daily life, historical events and various areas of cultural history. The collection also includes a variety of documents on the activities of the Riga Latvian Society in the 19th century. The collection contains a large amount of information gathered by the teacher and local history enthusiast Oscar Emil Schmidt at the turn of the 20th century, including descriptions and photographs of settlements, historical and architectural monuments in the territory of Latvia.
The collection also includes a small but relatively complete collection of maps from the 16th to the first half of the 20th century. The collection also contains postcards of Latvian towns, cities and landscapes, as well as portraits of prominent figures.
A noteworthy part of the collection’s printed materials consists of religious literature, including the Bible translated by Ernst Glück, other 17th–18th century publications, hymn books, and religious education books for children. Alongside religious literature, the collection also holds calendars, 18th–19th-century secular publications in Latvian and pivotal 19th–20th century publications, such as the first edition of Andrejs Pumpurs’ epic poem Lāčplēsis published in 1888.
Head curator of the collection Ilze Zīberte-Ķikute
In order to research the museum’s collection in person, those interested are invited to fill out the contact form, indicating the topic of interest and the chronology. After receiving the form, a museum specialist will contact you.