Schrettinger Catalogue

On approximately 17,000 folio sheets, the so-called 'Schrettinger Catalogue' contains handwritten entries for subject access to holdings of the Bavarian State Library, or rather, the Munich Court Library, as it was called until 1918. From 1819 to 1856, about 84,000 titles were subsumed under subject headings in alphabetical order by the librarians Martin Schrettinger (1772-1851) and Heinrich Föringer (1801-1880). At that time, this entirely new approach to subject cataloguing was devised for channeling the vast influx of books from the secularized monasteries and the Court Library at Mannheim. Kept today in 151 files, the Schrettinger Catalogue is the first subject catalogue of substantial size worldwide. Until now, the Catalogue has provided unique subject access to the more ancient collections of the Bavarian State Library since 1501. Reflecting early approaches to the History of Ideas in general, it particularly documents both the Library’s history and the history of librarianship. A quick survey of the Subject Headings may be gained from the typewritten Index published in 1980. Losses from the Second World War are not highlighted in the Catalogue and the indication of shelfmarks may vary from the OPAC usage. In case of doubt, please do not hesitate to contact the Library’s Information Services.