Permanent Collection
The Slovenian Museum and Archives is proud to have the manuscripts of two poems by Fraces Prešeren, who is considered the most reknowned Slovenian poet. The two original manuscripts to “A Farewell to Youth” (Slovo od mladosti) and “Doc” (Dohtar) were donated to the Slovenian Museum and Archives by Evgen Favetti and are now permanently housed at the Slovenian Museum and Archives in the "Prešeren Room.”
Discovery of the Prešern Papers
In 2016, the manuscripts of two poems by Prešeren, A Farewell to Youth (Slovo od mladosti) and Doc (Dohtar) were discovered by Luka Zibelnik, the lecturer of the Slovenian language at Cleveland State University and volunteer at the Slovenian Museum and Archives in Cleveland.
Zibelnik found the uncatalogued versions of Prešeren's poetry manuscripts earlier this year with the assistance of the Slovenian Consul General in Cleveland Andrej C. Rode. Zibelnik received an e-mail from Consulate General, Andrej Gregor Rode, where Zibelnik was notified that a Slovenian-American man named Evgen Favetti had informed the Consulate about the discovery of two Prešeren manuscripts. “He invited me over to have a look at what this was all about. At first, the e-mail was greeted with some skepticism, and we had to exclude the possibility of the manuscripts being fakes or facsimiles,” recounts Zibelnik.
According to Zibelnik, all doubts about the manuscripts’ authenticity vanished in April 2016 when the men met at the consulate. It was immediately clear that they were dealing with an extraordinary piece of cultural heritage. Favetti expressed his wish to put the manuscripts on display for the general public, and later to donate the manuscripts to the Slovenian Museum and Archives.
About the Presern Papers
Both manuscripts are signed and in good condition. A Farwell to Youth is written in the old Bohorič script, while Doc is written in the Gaj script. In some parts, the two manuscripts differ from the previously known versions of the poems. A Farewell to Youth dates to a period before it was published in the first issue of Krajnska čbelica in 1830, while Doc dates to a period after it was published in the forth issue of the same publication in 1833 – and before the censored manuscripts of Poetry from 1846.
Photos of Prešern Papers
Original manuscript of "Slovo Od Mladosti" (Page 1) by Frances Prešern
Original manuscript of "Slovo Od Mladosti" (Page 2) by Frances Prešern
Original manuscript of "Dohtar" by Frances Prešern (Front)
Original manuscript of "Dohtar" by Frances Prešern (Back)