Th is paper aims to present the history of a precious manuscript from the collections of the Kórnik Library – Autograf Kościuszki. Th e manuscript, written by Tadeusz Kościuszko in mid- 1793, contains Opis kampanii r. 1792 – a description of a campaign launched against Russia. Having analysed the manuscript and discussed all the eight editions of its text, the author of the article presents its history up until the death of Józef Dobek Dzierzkowski from Lviv (1830). He subsequently discusses a brief history of Tytus Działyński’s acquaintance with Wiktor Baworowski, as contained in their mutual correspondence, which discloses the further complex fate of Autograf Kościuszki – information on its subsequent owner and the circumstances in which it found its way into the collections of the Kórnik Library. Finally, all the copies of the manuscript known from literature are discussed. In the Annex, the author publishes inter alia the abovementioned correspondence between Działyński and Baworowski.

The Cao Bang Basin is the northernmost of the basins related to the Cao Bang-Tien Yen Fault Zone in northern Vietnam. The basin is filled with a thick series of continental deposits. However, the exact age of the sedimentary basin infill has been under discussion for a long time. Because of new published data, the authors have decided to revisit this basin. Palynological data has allowed us to assign the Cao Bang Basin infill to the Lower Oligocene PC1 complex of the Shangcun Fm. (southern China). Among the saccate grains of gymnosperms, the domination of Cathaya and Pinus was observed, whereas angiosperms are represented by Carya, Celtis, Hammamelidaceae, Ulmus and also Pterocarya, Quercus, the Castanea–Castanopsis–Lithocarpus group, and the Loranthaceae. Among pteridophytes occur Laevigatosporites, Osmundaceae, and Pteris. The sedimentological features of the Cao Bang Basin are distinct from those of other basins from the Cao Bang-Tien Yen Fault Zone. The basin is filled with a wide variety of clastic deposits, from some of coarse-grained, alluvial-fan origin, through sandy beds of fluvial origin up to fine, organic-rich lacustrine deposits. The coarse-grained lithofacies are built of clasts derived mainly from local sources. The sandstones from the basin equally are submature or immature. They contain a lot of lithoclasts, the composition of which depends on the sample location within the basin. The potential source area is composed of older sedimentary units and of granitic rocks. The geochemical samples studied reflect the geochemical composition of silicic source rocks with only a minor contribution of basic components. The succession that fills the basin is interpreted as a typical fill for relatively long-lasting evolving half-graben or strike-slip basins. Moreover, the basin is partly occupied by a subsequent present-day sedimentary basin of Quaternary age.

Modern archaeological research uses physico-chemical methods to answer questions beyond the scope of the conventional historian’s workshop. This applies to research on the borderline of fields, including material research into the elemental and isotopic composition of artefacts. The results of such analyses make it possible to address issues relating to the distribution of raw materials and the technology of artefact production. The paper discusses the SEM-EDS and LA-ICP-QMS micro-analysis methodology, addressing the limitations that result from the specification of techniques and the state of preservation of archaeological artefacts due to corrosion processes and conservation treatment. We present the preliminary results of technological research and provenance study of early medieval objects made of silver alloys, considered by typological group, i.e. coins, cake, and jewellery. Two hundred objects were analysed, revealing clear evidence for the use of remelted dirhams as the main source of raw material. The results of the research allowed for a material description of the phenomenon of the existence of cores in cross denarii, distinguishing two types of cores: based on copper and brass. In the case of jewellery, the research provided evidence for technological distinction, indicating the use of copper-based solders, as well as tin- and lead-based dolders, which have analogies in goldsmithing material from the Czech Republic. Recipes based on the marked composition are described in ancient sources. Silver cakes, on the other hand, can be divided into three extraction groups related to the degree of purification of the raw material. The preliminary results indicate that these objects were made of Asian dirhams and native lead, perhaps as an additive in the cupellation process.

The holdings of the PAS Gdańsk Library include the so-called Schwarzwald set marked by its uniform provenance, which is composed of the private collection of books of Heinrich Schwarzwald IV (1619-1672) and items collected in the library of St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Gdańsk from the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century – largely purchased using funds from this patrician. The Schwarzwald set in an almost complete form found its way to the City Library in Gdańsk in 1832; only in 1872 were manuscripts and incunabula added.
The paper sketches the history of the Schwarzwald set, placing it in the context of the early modern collectorship in Gdańsk, and presents its five hand-written catalogues, inventories and tables of contents created in the City Library in the 19th century. A quantitative analysis and a thematic division of Schwarzwald’s book collection and the holdings of the church library are also presented. The paper also indicates the benefits of studying broadly-understood book culture, resulting from the examination of historic catalogues and inventories, as well as imperfections in the drawing of conclusions on the basis of library materials without detailed examination of the studied collections.

Lithic fragments including quartz grains occur infrequently in the shallow-marine limestone sequence of the Fatra Formation deposited in the tensional intra-shelf depression of the Central Western Carpathians during the Rhaetian. Nevertheless, their study can bring data answering questions of sources, palaeogeodynamic arrangement, and processes at the end of the Triassic. In this study, we examined optically the cathodoluminescence (CL) colours of single quartz grains from the Kardolína section (Tatra Mts, Slovakia). These colours reveal a dominance of grains derived from regionally metamorphosed and plutonic rocks. Grains of hydrothermal and pegmatite origin are less frequent. Some of the quartz grains show recycled cement rims suggesting at least a second cycle origin. This sedimentary basin was situated near to the passive margin formed by the Variscan consolidated terrains of the Vindelician Highlands. Our study of the CL colours of quartz grains contributes to the elucidation of the nature of the rocks of the vanished Vindelician mountain belt.

The potential of heavy minerals as a provenance tracer in Albian arenites of extra-Carpathian Poland was assessed. Studies in this area have focused on various methods based on heavy mineral chemistry that provide an effective tool for reconstructing the provenance of quartz-rich sediments. The previously suggested division of the study area into two domains with different source areas: the western domain – the Miechów area, and the eastern domain – the Lublin area, was based on geochronological (monazite and muscovite dating) and rutile mineral chemical studies. The mineral chemistry of newly examined heavy minerals supports the previously suggested division. The mineral chemistry of detrital tourmaline suggests medium-grade metamorphic rocks as the main source in both domains. Detrital garnet in the western domain shows affiliation to the Góry Sowie Massif, while garnet in the eastern domain was most probably sourced from southern/central Norway. The western domain was most probably fed from rocks of the Bohemian Massif. The main source area for the eastern domain was most probably located in the Baltic Shield. The distinct division of the study area into two domains was caused by the palaeogeography of the region in the Albian and the action of longshore currents in south-eastward and eastward directions.

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Johann Fidalke (1703–1763), a Gdansk pastor and a gymnasium teacher, gathered a substantial collection of books comprising more than 10,000 volumes. After his death, the books were sold during four auctions, and the valuable collection was dispersed. However, owing to an auction catalogue kept in the collections of the Gdansk PAS Library, we may recreate the content of the Gdansk pastor’s collection. Its most considerable part was made up of different editions of the Holy Bible – with a total of 95 editions in 156 volumes. The article provides a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the said Bibles, focusing on the presentation of their languages as well as the places and times of their publication, and their bindings. The article is accompanied by an index, in which the different editions of the Bible in Fidalke’s collection are identified and catalogued in line with the contemporary standards, on the basis of the rudimentary information given in the auction catalogue.