Mihkel Jürgens ja Juhan Kangur – kaks 19. sajandi suurt eesti raamatusõpra
Mihkel Jürgens and Juhan Kangur – two great Estonian booklovers of the 19th century

Summary/Abstract: By the mid-19th century, the total number of Estonian-language books published over time approached a thousand. Along with the previously dominant written word with spiritual content, fiction and popular education books gained an increasingly important place, accompanied by a robust increase in the number of readers. The first true Estonian bibliophiles also appeared, booklovers who emerged from the ranks of the common people and who, regardless of their limited education and financial hardship, set their life-goal to assemble the most complete collection possible of Estonian-language books. A bookbinder in Pärnu, Mihkel Jürgens (1820–1874) was the greatest Estonian bibliophile of the 19th century, whose library contained nearly 1,700 items of printed matter and 45 manuscripts at the end of his life. He started intentionally collecting Estonian-language books in the early 1850s and continued to do so with great dedication until the end of his life. Based on his library, he compiled two catalogues (1857 and 1864), which were also the first separately published bibliographic printed materials about Estonian books. In addition to his collecting work, his contribution as a promoter of Estonian-language books and literature in the press and his active collaboration with other figures and societies from the Estonian era of national awakening should also be regarded. After the owner’s death, his entire collection of books was sold off separately, and thus this valuable and rare library of its time has unfortunately not survived. Another booklover from among the Estonian common people who was active in the second half of the 19th century was Juhan Kangur (1846–1919), who was not involved with books professionally during his lifetime. In spite of hard conditions, he was a passionate collector who increased the total number of his library to approximately 1,000 volumes. In addition to purchases, he obtained a large number of his books as donations directly from authors or publishers. Some of the books he owned have survived and are kept in the Archival Library of the Estonian Literary Museum as a personal collection, which currently includes 214 volumes. Kangur’s books contain many dedications from donors and inscriptions from the owner, which tell us where, when, and from whom the work was acquired and how much it cost.

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