Obituaries Collection of the 19th–20th Centuries in the Archives of the Manuscript Department of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientific Library of Ukraine in Lviv

The aim of the work is the introduction into the scientifi c circulation, generalization, and analysis of the materials of the «Obituaries collection of the 19th–20th centuries» (F. 351), which was recently created in the archives of the Manuscript Department of Vasyl Stefanyk National Scientifi c Library of Ukraine in Lviv, the disclosure of their content, the establishment of historical, cultural, and art value. The methodology of the research is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, the application of the synthesis and analysis methods, the comparative-historical method (while comparing obituaries from various periods and European countries), the archival methodological approaches. The scientifi c novelty consists in the introduction into the scientifi c circulation of the large amount of such documents, as obituaries (which previously were rarely used in the research works), and also in the illumination of their informational value as sources for social and cultural history, biographical and prosopography inquiries. Prospects for further studies. Given a very large amount of the documents in the collection, their analysis can only be selective, and a detailed study of each of them within a single article is simply impossible. So, in the next studies we can carry out a more thorough consideration of the collection – both of its separate parts as well as individual obituaries. The study of these materials can be fruitful in prosopography. Also, due to their huge variety – having originated in diff erent European countries, obituaries can be investigated in comparative inquiries. Conclusions. On the basis of the research of the documents, which form this collection, generalizations regarding their origins, content, informational value, structure, design, and features were made. As a result, a signifi cant potential of the obituaries as sources for the study of the social and family history of the 19th– 20th centuries, scientifi c relations, culture of the romanticism era in addition to their high art value are established. All of it indicates a clear value of the newly formed collection of the Manuscript Department and demonstrates strong research possibilities, which it presents for the scholars.