bavarikon4UThe Cimelia Holdings of the Universitätsbibliothek München
Since the middle of the nineteenth century, particularly precious works from the holdings of the Universitätsbibliothek der LMU München (Munich University Library) were gathered together under the signature "Cim." (= "Cimelia"). Among these works are today more than 60 manuscripts, 11 block books, 13 incunabula and 54 valuable prints. Some of these cimelia are cultural objects of world standing. The library preserved some of these works separately even during the eighteenth-century Ingolstadt period. This fact seems to be indicated by a note in Cim. 69, in accordance to which the book was taken to Munich because of its value in 1796, to protect it against the expected siege of Ingolstadt during the French Revolutionary Wars. Entries to the main catalogue such as "in the librarian's desk" or "in the iron-clad locker" make one think of a praxis of separation that was not only caused by the objects' value but also took account of a censoring poison cupboard mentality. In accordance with the description by the senior librarian Karl Schafhäutl (1803–1890), in 1854, when he took over the directorship of the library, precisely the most valuable books could no longer be found. In part, they were in a desolate state of preservation, for example the letters of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646–1716) were stored crumpled-up in a crate.
Schafhäutl ordered the cimelia to be gathered together, to be catalogued and to be numbered in the chronological order of their creation. He had them stored in desks with glass tops. The knowledge about the chronological order of the cimelia numbers was nonetheless lost over time so that new objects were either placed arbitrarily at the end of the series or set down next to pieces that demonstrated some similar characteristics.
Some cimelia unfortunately were lost. The Leibniz letters to Ferdinand Orban (Cim. 21) were destroyed by fire during the bombings of Munich on 16 July 1944, since they had been taken from the safety of the evacuation storage to be consulted by a university professor. Gregory of Tours' De virtutibus et miraculis Sancti Martini (On the Virtues and Miracles of Saint Martin; Cim. 28), the Kaiserchronik (Imperial Chronicle; Cim. 32), Bartholomew Platina's Historia de vitis pontificum (History of the Lives of the Popes; Cim. 35) and Vitus Anton Winter's Über die ältesten Gesetze Bajuwariens (On the Oldest Laws of Bavaria; Cim. 41) had no longer been traceable during a review of the collection back in 1908. Die Morgengebete für den hl. Versöhnungstag (Morning Prayers for the Holy Day of Atonement; Cim. 33) have been considered lost since September 1939.
>> This collection is part of the holdings of the Universitätsbibliothek der LMU München (University Library of the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich).