Milda Kvizikevičiūtė

A person with colourful tattooed arms and a graphic T-shirt holds open an early printed book. The visible woodcut portrait inside shows a Martin Luther’s face that has been heavily crossed out with dark ink. Bookshelves filled with old volumes are blurred in the background.

A person with tattooed arms holds open a 16th-century printed book. The title page reads “De Captivitate Babylonica Ecclesiae Praeludium, Martini Lutheri,” with handwritten marginal notes and an old library stamp at the bottom. Shelves of historic books line the background.

Dominican #censorship

Fun fact: in the Bibliotheca Casanatense, book theft didn’t just get you in trouble—it got you excommunicated on the spot. (At least that’s the warning that was hung up at the library)
#earlymodern #bookhistory

A masterpiece of early natural history 🦋✨
Scilla’s 1715 butterfly manuscript, Italy’s first Lepidoptera collection, pairs meticulous watercolours with 211 specimens preserved between mica “windows” — centuries before modern plastics.

Kept at Biblioteca Casanatense,

An open 15th-century manuscript displayed on a wooden table. The right-hand page features a full-length illustration of a stylized male figure holding a long sword, decorated with bright colors and symbolic motifs: a green dragon head near the hilt, gold circles at the knees, and a horned or fleur-de-lis–shaped crest on the helmet. Surrounding the figure is dense handwritten Latin text in brown ink. The left-hand page contains neatly written text with rubricated initials and marginal notes. The pages show signs of age and wear.

This fencing manual - written between 1482–1487 and dedicated to Guidobaldo da Montefeltro - once sat in the Ducal Library of Urbino. Influenced by Fiore dei Liberi, cited in the ducal index, lost after Cesare Borgia’s 1502 conquest, resurfaced centuries later at the National Central Library of Rome

A painting showing Erasmus seated beside wooden shelves filled with several books. On the middle shelf, a pair of metal scissors hangs vertically. The books have clasps and ties. The man wears a dark cap and black clothing, looking downward.

A hand holding an open book with gilded page edges and a blue ribbon bookmark. The figure wears a dark garment with white lace cuffs. A small dog with brown fur is partially visible in the background, looking toward the viewer.

A close-up of a Renaissance painting showing a seated woman in a red dress and grey cloak. Beside her, on a cushion, lies a thick book with a red cover and metal fittings. Several thin metal-tipped bookmark cords hang from the lower edge of the book. The background shows an arched window and a view of buildings outside.

Books in paintings at the Bernini Palace in Rome: from Erasmus’s scissors to the delicate metal bookmarks of Mary.

Close-up photograph of a worn, reddish-brown leather book cover with an embossed silver coat of arms. The design resembles a Russian double-headed eagle, but only one eagle head remains visible; the other has been scraped away. In the center shield, instead of St. George a mounted knight (Vytis) – coat of arms of Lithuania. The leather around the emblem is scratched and scuffed, showing age and wear.

Resistance in the 18th c. could look like this.
At first glance, this coat of arms seems unmistakably Russian – a double-headed eagle with St George in the centre.
But LOOK closer.
One head is scraped off, and in the centre you find #Vytis, the #Lithuanian coat of arms, quietly reclaiming its place.

The main text reads “Laudabili, gratiulādi, cōdolēti… occasione accommodata. IN Parnasso VILNENSI proposita Anno…” followed by the chronogram “Vt Casēs CorpVs præDa beaVIt, aMor.” The writing varies between large black calligraphic capitals and smaller cursive notes added in brown ink. A blue circular ink stamp with a double-headed eagle appears on the right side. Marginal notes and a signature run along the left edge. The paper is worn and stained, with visible discoloration and small surface abrasions.

Vt Cases CorpVs præDa beaVIt aMor.
Early modern authors: “Here, decode my feelings and my calendar.”
Me: sir this is a title page.

Is it 1716, though?

#earlymodern #chronigram #handwritten #manuscript

A vintage illustrated postcard depicting a theatrical or ballroom scene. In the center, a woman in a yellow and purple gown with flowers in her hair curtsies gracefully. On her left, a man in a green and red costume with a plumed hat bows and kisses her hand; on her right, another man in a blue coat bows deeply while holding a violin. The background features draped curtains and a large arched window, suggesting a stage setting.

Monday mood: quietly losing my mind over UMARC fields and 35th sermon— all in the name of research 🪄📚

A handwritten Latin manuscript page

A handwritten Latin manuscript page

Title page of a 17th-century Latin manuscript titled Promptuarium Orationum in Omni Materia Subsequentur Epistolae Varie.

“The enemy is at the walls; we are barely holding out. If you do not come, we are all lost.”

From a textbook used by students of the Vilnius Diocesan Seminary.

#NationalLibraryofLithuania #earlymodern #manuscript

Poster for the international conference Scattered, Tracked, Connected: New Approaches to Dispersed Heritage organized by the National Museum of Lithuania. The event will take place at the National Museum of Lithuania, Arsenalo Street 1, Vilnius, on 29–30 April 2026. Logos of the organizer and partners, including the Institute of History, Vilnius University’s Faculty of History and Faculty of Communication, UNESCO, and the Baltic Audiovisual Archival Council, appear at the bottom.

Screenshot of the National Museum of Lithuania website showing the Call for Papers text for the conference Scattered, Tracked, Connected. The description invites museum professionals, historians, and heritage specialists to explore the fragmented and displaced nature of cultural heritage, emphasizing digital tools, collaboration, and ethical storytelling.

Screenshot of the National Museum of Lithuania website listing the first three themes of the Scattered, Tracked, Connected conference: 1) Mapping the Dispersed, 2) Whose Heritage Is It, and 3) Digital Reconnections. Each theme addresses topics like provenance research, ethical frameworks, restitution, digital documentation, and reuniting dispersed collections.

Screenshot of the National Museum of Lithuania website showing thematic areas 4 and 5 of the Scattered, Tracked, Connected Call for Papers — ‘Silent Absences’ and ‘Institutions and Imagination.’ The text also provides submission guidelines: 250–300 word abstracts in English or Lithuanian and a 100-word biography, to be submitted by 19 December 2025 via a registration form.

📢 #CFP is open!
Join us in Vilnius for the international conference “Scattered, Tracked, Connected: New Approaches to Dispersed Heritage” - exploring innovative ways to trace, interpret, and connect fragmented cultural collections.
🔗 lnm.lt/en/events/in...
#heritage #archives #museums #GLAM

A group photo of conference speakers

✨ Acutus et Argutus: Early Modern Print Culture in Motion has finally happened!

Three days of brilliant talks, sharp ideas, and lively discussions on early modern books, poetics & print networks — with speakers from across Europe.

#bookhistory #PrintCulture #earlymodern

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Slide with a piesia artificial example – text written in a trumpet

Acutus et argutus has begun! Why to type something easily, when you can do labirynths, roses. Should my next paper look like that? 🫢

Canoodling couple seated by tree, crossed out!

Bodies (sick, not in flagrante delicto) on floor, crossed out with great enthusiasm.

Love... Or Death?

#Plague or #TooPerilous
3/3

Believe it or not, this is a parish register from the seventeenth century that was damaged during a fire! 🔥

Heat causes the collagen fibres in the parchment to denature and shrink and eventually turn to gelatine, which sometimes has a ‘glassy’ appearance.

#EarlyModern #Skystorians

The Baltic Way: How Holding Hands Changed History | Lithuania On August 23, 1989, a momentous event unfolded that would forever leave its mark on history. Two million people joined hands, creating an unbroken human chain that spanned over 600 kilometres, linking...

#BalticWay was a call for #freedom! On August 23, 1989, 2 million people joined hands across #Lithuania, #Latvia, and #Estonia to mark the 50th anniversary of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, when the USSR and Nazi Germany secretly divided Europe into spheres of influence.

lithuania.lt/news/life-an...

Illustration of a stone bridge with two arches. A small figure walks across the bridge, carrying a stick. Below, people fish on the riverside. On the right side stands a tower and trees; on the left, hills and another tree. The scene is framed within an oval border.

All sorts of activities happeningnin this teeny tiny vignette.

#oldbooks #rarebooks #fishing #swimming #bridges #NationalLibraryOfLithuania

A printed Latin text with a large decorated initial “Q.” The letter has been doodled into a cartoonish face, with eyes, eyebrows, nose, and a frowning mouth. Above the “Q,” extra pen strokes make it look like the figure is wearing a hat.

A printed Latin text with a large initial “V.” Inside the letter, someone has drawn a small face with eyes, nose, and mouth.

A printed Latin text with a large initial “Q.” The circular part of the letter has been filled with a face: two dark eyes, a large shaded nose, and a serious mouth with a moustache-like line, making the letter resemble a stern human head.

Annotation? No thanks, I’ll draw my feelings instead.
What mood would you doodle today?

#rarebooks #earlymodernbook #NationalLibraryOfLithuania #doodle

The book doesn’t contain any marginalia, so my assumption is that the mark may have been left by the printer.

A close-up photo of an old book page numbered 267, showing Latin text printed in black ink. In the upper right margin, there is a visible black fingerprint smudge, suggesting someone with ink-stained fingers touched the page. The paper has a rough texture and slightly browned edges.

A little bit of a personal touch left behind.

De censuris Ecclesiasticis tractatus. Leiden, 1608 #NationalLibraryOfLithuanis
#earlymodern #printculture

A detailed black-and-white woodcut print showing a crowded public bath scene. Numerous nude and semi-nude figures, both male and female, are seen bathing, washing, socializing, and lounging around an elaborate fountain and classical-style architectural structure with columns. Some figures are scrubbing themselves or each other, while others are engaged in conversation or relaxation.

That one person in the pool 🔫💦

@Kunsthistoriches Museum Vienna

#earlymodern #printculture

Yes, it looks like it was a grave.

Main text: Лета 7083 [1575] поставили крест Береза да Федор [or Федос] Павлов сын Моло — подписал [O]рлишко

This is what’s written in the ends of the cross: ЦАРЬ СЛАВЫ / ИСУСЪ ХРИСТОС / НИ/КА

I will not be attempting to translate it, as quality would be the same as with google translate :)

This is DAMN good BibComm 🔥

In a vivid orange exhibition space, former President Dalia Grybauskaitė listens as Dr. Milda Kvizikevičiūtė (in a green patterned dress), one of the curators, presents a display table featuring ceramic reconstructions of historical dishes, biscuit moulds, vegetables, and a frying pan. The table is illustrated with recipes and foods once enjoyed by Renaissance queens Barbara Radziwiłł and Catherine Jagiellon. Nearby stand co-curators Dr. Vaida Ragėnaitė (in a violet dress) and Julija Janus (in pink stripes), along with Rūta Kačkutė (in a dark blue dress), general director of the National Museum of Lithuania. Exhibition cases with rare books and portraits are visible in the background.

To open an exhibition is a celebration in itself. But to have a President Dalia Grybauskaitė as a patron of exhibition and give her a personal guided tour is huge honor!

Queens, Realms and Emotions open till 4 January, 2025. #NationalMuseumOfLithuania, House of Histories
#Lithuania

A museum exhibit featuring a taxidermied falcon perched on a branch inside a glass case. In front of it, another glass case displays an open illustrated book showing a detailed drawing of a falcon. In the background, a large, ornate tapestry depicts a vivid hunting scene with figures on horseback, dogs, and wild animals in a dense forest setting. The display highlights the cultural and symbolic role of falcons in historical hunting traditions.

Falcon in its natural habitat.
🦅
It’s always nice to see exhibition come to life!

📖Les délices des la natura, Nürnberg, 1774
🪶Falco cherrug
🖼️ Tapestry with hunting scene

Quenns, Realms and Emotions from June 4th at the #NationalMuseumofLithuania

A speaker presenting at an academic conference.

Title page of a book: A Relation of the Distressed Statė of the Church of Christ processing the Protestant Religiom in the Great Dukedom of Lithuania.

Title page of a book by Samual Clarke. A Generał Martyrologię, published in London, 1677

What a week! #REFORC2025 has ended, and it was a blast. I had the opportunity to discuss a Lithuanian text published in London to raise aid for Reformed churches in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania devastated by the Deluge.
#NationalMuseumOfLithuania #rarebooks #specialcollections
@reforc.bsky.social

The left screen features a sign language interpreter against a blue background, providing live interpretation. The right screen displays a presentation slide titled “Renouncing Erasmus? Reading…” with images of historical figures

Accesibility done right at the academic conference!
#Reforc2025

A stack of three old books with visibly damaged spines and covers, pierced by a bullet. The leather bindings are torn, and some pages are shredded and charred.

Three books. Three bullets.
These volumes—once part of a peaceful library—were struck and torn apart by gunfire in #Vienna in 1940s.
A haunting reminder of how even cultural heritage aren’t spared from violence.
#WienMuseum

A tall wooden bookshelf filled with ornate, gold-tooled leather-bound books inside the National Library of Austria. Some books are laid on their bookbloks, exposing the red block sides.

National Library of Viena, is that a new encryption method?! Can someone crack the code?

Anyway, a solid warp-up for #reforc2025

@reforc.bsky.social

A group of people sits in a historic Vilnius Universtity library room with an ornate vaulted ceiling decorated in blue and gray floral patterns.

Meeting of Lithuanian special collections curators: discussing security in the face of geopolitics, crises, and thefts. How can we protect our heritage while staying as open and accessible as possible? #CulturalHeritage #security #Lithuania #specialcollections

The #CFP has been extended! You can still submit your proposals for the conference until May 15. Perhaps you’ll help us uncover just how much wit and sharpness it took to write, publish, illustrate, or collect books.

More: konferencijos.lnb.lt/acutus-et-ar...