4.2.1 Development of exchange practices
The exchange activities of the FLS began even before its first publications had ap-peared, when a Danish society, Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift Selskab (the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries), unexpectedly donated 18 books in 1833. The FLS could only write a letter of thanks, for it had nothing to offer in return. On the same occasion, it invited the secretary of the Oldskrift Selskab, Karl Kristian Rafn, to be its first corresponding member, together with his compatriot Christian Molbech.
The Oldskrift Selskab continued to send publications occasionally even though they received nothing in return until six years after their first donation.436 The sporadic gift-giving turned gradually into a regular exchange of learned journals which con-tinued until the end of the period under study.
Irregular donations of this kind were typical in the first half of the nineteenth cen-tury. The concept of exchange of publications was not used, at least in the documents of the FLS. Either the consignments were written into the minutes as occasional gifts437 or if the relationship between two societies was considered regular it was usually de-fined more widely than just a reciprocal sending of publications. The next initiative for the exchange of publications arrived from the Gelehrte Estnische Gesellschaft which declared its wish to enter into a closer scholarly connection with you.438 The FLS used the same expression in its minutes.439 The term utbyte (exchange) appears for the first time in the annual report of 1842 but, in 1845, it was, again, replaced by a more general utterance Literary Communication.440 N.E. Gwinn states that the vague terminology was partly caused by the courtesy rules of the scholarly community. The terms gift, donation and communication were more appropriate to diplomatic parlance than the word exchange, which implicitly carried a demand for quid-pro-quo. In the minutes of the American Philosophical Society, the term exchange was first used in 1795 but
436 Minutes of the FLS 9 October 1833 § 3; 13 November 1833 § 2; 6 February 1839 § 2. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1; 9 October 1833 the FLS to Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift Sel-skabet. Historical archive of the FLS. Correspondence 61. Mf 1984:1. SKS, KIA. Kongelige Nordiske Oldskrift Selskab was founded in 1825 and like the FLS, it promoted the research of old texts and sagas and archaeology. Its secretary, Rafn, was the actual leader of the society, for its president was King Frederick VI. See Det Kongelige Nordiske Oldskriftselskab. http:��www.oldskriftselskabet.dk�
(cited 6 September 2011) ; Kunze 1957, p. 11 mentions that a member of the FLS, Frans Knorring, was also a member of Oldskrift Selskab.
437 Minutes of the FLS 16 March 1839 § 4-5. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1. SKS, KIA.
438 11 June 1840 Gelehrte Ehstnische Gesellschaft to the FLS. Historical archive of the FLS. Cor- 11 June 1840 Gelehrte Ehstnische Gesellschaft to the FLS. Historical archive of the FLS. Cor-Historical archive of the FLS. Cor-respondence 61. Mf 1984:1. SKS, KIA. Citation in German: in eine nähere wissenschafftliche Verbin-dung mit ihr zu treten.
439 Minutes of the FLS 6 May 1840 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1. SKS, KIA. The text in the minutes: att träda i närmare litterär gemenskap.
440 In Swedish: Literära Communication. Minutes of the FLS 16 March 1842, annual report; 16 March 1845, annual report. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1. SKS, KIA.
it did not replace these older terms.441 The FLS began to consider sending books and journals as a permanent reciprocal activity after gift-giving had continued for over a decade. In 1847, it took a decision in principle to send its publications regularly to those societies which had sent the FLS their books and journals.442 In 1854, it decided to demand the missing items of their serials, which indicated that it expected regular-ity in its partners.443 The term exchange became common only in the 1860s and 1870s.
Interestingly, even then the terms exchange of books and exchange of letters were mixed but this was probably due to confusion between a new Finnish word kirje (meaning letter) and the old word kirja referring to both a book and a letter.444
The idea of exchanging publications came from Denmark and Estonia. Being the first publishing learned society in Finland, the FLS did not have domestic forerun-ners, but through its secretary, Sven Gabriel Elmgren, who worked in the University Library, it could have absorbed ideas and useful practices concerning exchanges. The university belonged to the Commercium Litterarium and Akademischer Tausch-verein and furthermore, received publications from some Russian institutions.445 The documents of the FLS, however, are very laconic on these questions and there are no mentions of how the exchange practices were adopted. Probably this was due to the general passivity of the FLS in this area, which becomes apparent in Table 4.1 examining the initiatives of exchanges of the FLS.
The majority of the 39 exchanges of the FLS was established at the proposal of a foreign partner, the initiatives of the FLS being more an exception than a rule. After receiving the first offers from Denmark and Estonia, the society was encouraged enough to send its first publications Kalevala, Kultala and Kanteletar to the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities. The polite covering letter did not propose exchange but included a subtle hint that the publications of the Academy included volumes concerning the history of Finland.446 After two years, the FLS sent its new book Suomen kansan sananlaskuja (The Proverbs of the Finnish People) 447 but nothing was heard from the Academy. Slightly more successful was the next attempt with Svenska Fornskriftsällskapet (The Society for Old Swedish Literature) whose publications were introduced to the FLS by its corresponding member, a Finnish-born historian and journalist, Adolf Ivar Arwidsson.448 The Journal of Fornskriftsällskapet
441 Gwinn 1996, pp. 53, 72.
442 Minutes of the FLS 6 October 1847 § 6. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2. SKS, KIA.443 Minutes of the FLS 6 December 1854 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2.
SKS, KIA.
444 Minutes of the FLS 4 December 1867 § 11. In SUOMI II:8 (1870), pp. 444-445; 13 January 1869 § 4. In SUOMI II:9 (1871), p. 431; 4 January 1871 § 5. In SUOMI II:11 (1876), pp. 313-314; 5 April 1871 § 10; 16 March 1873, annual report. In SUOMI II:12 (1878), pp. 4, 163. On the history of the Finnish words kirja and kirje, see Häkkinen 2004, pp. 434-436.
445 Jörgensen (1930) 1980, pp. 108-112, 114-115.
446 Minutes of the FLS 3 November 1841 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1; 1 July 1842 the FLS to Kungliga Vitterhets-, Historie- och Antikvitetsakademi. Historical archive of the FLS. Correspondence 61. Mf 1984:1. SKS, KIA.
447 Minutes of the FLS 10 May 1843 § 3; 16 March 1844, annual report. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1. SKS, KIA.
448 Minutes of the FLS 6 October 1847 § 2. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2. SKS, KIA.
was received, until 1859, but then the consignments ceased. In the 1850s, the FLS made two more initiatives, one to the Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab (Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters), which was suggested by a corre-sponding member Molbech449 and another to the University of Uppsala. The Danish Academy never sent return presents and in Uppsala the proposition was probably buried under the piles of paper on the librarian’s desk, for publications from there were received only in the 1880s.450 It is possible that the silence following the consign-ments of the FLS was due to the loss in transit, which was not unusual at the time.
The other and even more likely explanation is that the consignments were under-stood to be gifts.451 However, the poor results were not encouraging and it took over a decade for the FLS to be encouraged to take new initiatives.
Table 4.1. Initiators of the exchange relations of the Finnish Literature Society 1833-1914.452
Period
Initiator
Total FLS Exchange
Partner Both Unknown
1833-1839 0 1 0 0 1
1840-1849 1 3 0 0 4
1850-1859 1 3 0 0 4
1860-1869 0 1 1 0 2
1870-1879 1 6 0 0 7
1880-1889 0 4 0 1 5
1890-1899 0 4 0 1 5
1900-1909 1 4 0 1 6
1910-1914 0 5 0 0 5
Total 4 31 1 3 39
New moves in the field of exchange were made in the 1860s when a young, inter-nationally orientated linguist, Otto Donner, aimed at opening contacts with the Hungarians, suggesting that the society would offer an exchange of publications to
449 Minutes of the FLS 1 October 1851 § 5. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2. SKS, KIA.450 Minutes of the FLS 7 December 1853 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2. SKS, KIA; minutes of the FLS 4 May 1887 § 3. In SUOMI III:1 (1888), p. 281.
451 Th e same institutions established exchanges with other Finnish societies; Th e Danish Acad- The same institutions established exchanges with other Finnish societies; The Danish Acad-emy with the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters and the Royal Swedish AcadAcad-emy of Letters, History and Antiquities with the Finnish Antiquarian Society, which indicates that they did not consider the Finnish publications irrelevant or inferior. See Elfving 1938, p. 238.
452 Usually new exchange relations were announced at the meetings and registered into the min- Usually new exchange relations were announced at the meetings and registered into the min-utes which often included information on the initiators. Some exchanges, however, appear only in various lists of exchange partners. In these cases, their initiator is unknown. Occasional donations are not included in this table, neither the rejected offers.
the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the literary Kisfaludy Society. The leading members of the FLS were not too enthusiastic about his idea, supposing that Hun-garians would publish many more books and journals and therefore the exchange would be uneven. This was an astonishingly cautious standpoint, considering that the librarian of the Hungarian Academy, Pál Hunfalvy, had privately informed Yrjö Koskinen of his wish to promote exchanges between Finnish and Hungarian soci-eties. The Kisfaludy Society proved its willingness to enter an exchange relation by sending its exchange proposition almost at the same time as the FLS was writing its own offer. With the Hungarian Academy of Science, Donner had to persuade the society many times before it finally agreed to send an exchange proposition.453 The exchange relation with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences was well grounded, for it was developing into one of the leading research centres of Finno-Ugrian studies. Even the timing was convenient. When the political conditions in Hungary had settled at the end of the 1860s, the Academy was actively widening its international relations.454 It became a loyal long-term partner which sent many serials to the FLS, whereas the consignments of the Kisfaludy Society ceased at the end of the 1870s.
Donner, with his international efforts, was a lone wolf in the FLS, and in the 1880s he turned his energy more to the use of the newly founded Finno-Ugrian Society.455 In the FLS, the chairmanship of Koskinen strengthened the nationalistic attitude.
The use of the Finnish language was not a favourable factor from the point of view of international exchange. Besides, the officials of the society were well aware that the exchange items would diminish stocks which, otherwise, could be sold. In the early twentieth century, during the chairmanship of Eliel Aspelin-Haapkylä, the FLS made one more overture to Sweden, to the new journal Le Monde Oriental. This time it succeeded in creating a well functioning exchange.456 Furthermore, it joined the proposition of the University of Helsinki and other learned societies to create a com-mon exchange with the British Museum. Despite the numerous publications which the Finnish societies and the university were willing to send to London, the British Museum rejected the offer.457 Although the FLS did not make many overtures, itself, the opportunity to spread information on Finnish culture was considered valuable and it usually accepted all the exchange offers it received,458 not considering the relevance
453 Minutes of the FLS 4 December 1867 § 11. In SUOMI II:8 (1870), pp. 444-445; 14 October 1868
§ 3; 13 January 1869 § 4. In SUOMI II:9 (1871), pp. 419, 431; 3 May 1871 § 7. In SUOMI II:12 (1878), 9. On the contacts of Finnish and Hungarian scholars in the 1850s and the 1860s, see Korhonen 1984, p. 36; Wichman 1923, p. 394.
454 Hungarian Academy of Science: a Brief History (cited 16 February 2012); Korhonen 1984, p.
45. 455 Donner promoted exchanges in the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, too. See Elfving 1938, p. 239.
456 Minutes of the FLS 3 December 1908 § 12. In SUOMI IV:7 (1909), p. 120.
457 Minutes of the FLS 5 April 1911 § 5; 6 March 1912 § 4. In SUOMI IV:12 (1911�1913), p. 5-6, 114.
458 Only once is a refusal of an exchange offer mentioned in the minutes. The FLS rejected a proposal from the National Library in Montevideo, Uruguay. Minutes of the board of the FLS 25 October 1905 § 12. Historical archive of the FLS. Mf 1962:2. SKS, KIA.
of the material too rigorously.459 For instance, it entered into an exchange relation with the American Philosophical Society without having a clear idea of its focus.460
The FLS published prolifically but not all its publications were sent to the exchange partners. The journal Suomi was the most regular consignment. Furthermore, the society sent its partners folklore, bibliographies, dictionaries and a few books includ-ing French or German texts. Duplicates were changed only occasionally. Even coins and crania were once suggested as exchange material, but there are no mentions of consigned skulls in the documents.461 The librarian and sometimes the secretary of the society attended to the exchange practices which included selecting and consigning the publications of the FLS for partners, receiving the foreign books and journals and writing acknowledgements or notes on missing items.462 Sending publications abroad was not a simple thing to do. Some partners, like the Smithsonian Institution, used agents in various parts of Europe, whereas some others advised the FLS to consign packages to a local consulate.463 The most common way of sending publications was to use the services of the booksellers, who usually had wide international networks and travelled regularly to European book centres.464
As a mode of scholarly co-operation, the exchange of publications was quite formal and impersonal in character, especially in the second half of the nineteenth century, when printed letters and receipts became common. Exchange offers were often hand-written and corteous, sometimes even flattering, but when a relation was established, both parties used to change to printed forms. The letters and notes were usually writ-ten in French or in German though more unusual languages were sometimes found
459 Minutes of the FLS 16 March 1896, account of the book stock. In SUOMI III:13 (1897), pp.
145-147.
460 Th is ignorance became evident some years later, when the FLS had to write a letter of con- This ignorance became evident some years later, when the FLS had to write a letter of con-gratulation on the 150th anniversary of the American Philosophical Society. The secretary of the FLS wrote to the philosopher Arvi Grotenfelt to ask what kind of studies this American partner repre-sented. Minutes of the FLS 8 September 1886 § 3. In SUOMI II:20 (1887), pp. 362-363; 12 January 1893 Arvi Grotenfelt to F.V. Rothsten. Historical archive of the FLS. Correspondence 61. Mf 1984:13. SKS, KIA.461 See e.g. minutes of the FLS 5 May 1841 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 1; 2 May 1849 § 3. Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelo (Folder) 2. SKS, KIA; 1 May 1878 § 4. In SUOMI II:13 (1879), pp. 379-380; 8 September 1886 § 3. In SUOMI II:20 (1887), pp. 362-363; 3 February 1897
§ 4. In SUOMI III:14 (1897), pp. 103-104; 1 October 1902 § 11. In SUOMI IV:1 (1903), pp. 57-58; 4 October 1905 § 14. In SUOMI IV:4 (1906), p. 53; 6 February 1908 § 14. In SUOMI IV:6 (1909), p. 136;
7 April 1909 § 18. In SUOMI IV:8 (1910), pp. 13-14.
462 Minutes of the FLS 22 May 1878 § 11. In SUOMI II:13 (1879), p. 387; 5 November 1890 § 11. In SUOMI III:5 (1892), p. 402; 9 October 1895 § 3. In SUOMI III:13 (1897), p. 46. The society decided to send acknowledgements in 1874 because their partners used them. Minutes of the FLS 4 September 1872 § 4. In SUOMI II:12 (1878), p. 115.
463 Minutes of the FLS 4 February 1874 § 2. In SUOMI II:12 (1878), pp. 204-205; 4 October 1905
§ 14. In SUOMI IV:4 (1906), pp. 53-54; 10 June 1870 Smithsonian Institution to the FLS. Correspon-dence 64. Mf 1984:2. SKS, KIA.
464 12 January 1880 Magyar Tudomanyos Akademia to the FLS; the receipts of the FLS 1868-1886.
Historical archive of the FLS. Kotelot (Folders) 70, 71, 72, 73. SKS, KIA. On the networks of book-sellers, see Hakapää 2008, pp. 88-89.
in the messages from kindred nations.465 The formal character of the correspondence was necessary, otherwise the activity would have become too laborious. The idea of exchange in its wider form of literary communication prevailed, however, materialising in various newsletters which informed the changes and replacements in the partner institution and in invitations to anniversaries and festivities, sometimes even to an-nual meetings – something which only in exceptional cases was possible for distant Finns. The FLS responded to these invitations by sending congratulatory letters or telegrams.466
Thirty-nine exchange relations was a small number in comparison with many other Finnish societies. Considering that at the turn of the century, there were about 5000 learned societies in Europe and in overseas467 and furthermore, hundreds of uni-versities, museums and research institutes, it is obvious that the distribution of the publications of the FLS was very narrow. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the extensive international network was not the actual aim of the FLS. After Finno-Ugrian linguistics was transferred to the Finno-Finno-Ugrian Society and the international activities of folklore research to the Folklore Fellows, the FLS was completely satisfied with its co-operation with Estonians, Hungarians and a handful of other partners whose publications helped it to promote the research of the Finnish language, folklore and literature. The motives of those societies and institutions which suggested the exchange of publications to FLS is another matter. How did they find this Finnish Society and what did they expect to receive?
4.2.2 Exchange partners of the FLS
At the time when the FLS was founded, the knowledge of Finland outside the Nor-dic countries and Russia was based mostly on the travelogues which described it as a fairly backward but a beautiful country. From time to time, political news such as the Crimean War, the February manifesto, which turned the legislative power from Finnish authorities to the emperor and his advisors, or the Parliament Act of 1906 which established a single-chamber legislature and universal suffrage, raised Finland to the European consciousness. The nineteenth century was a period when Finland actively aimed at presenting itself as a nation. The political development set the frames in this image building, but mostly the work was done in the fields of economy, culture and science.468 In the first half of the nineteenth century, scholarly contacts were often created with previously known institutions. As the number of learned institutions increased, various directories and catalogues listing the societies
465 See e. g. 17 January 1853 Ehstländische Literärische Gesellschaft to the FLS. Correspondence 62. Mf 1984:1; 4 January 1874 Eesti Kirjameeste Selts to the FLS. Mf 1984; 25 April 1878 Germanisches Nationalmuseum to the FLS. Historical archive of the FLS. Correspondence 65. Mf 1984:3. SKS, KIA.466 See e.g. minutes of the FLS 7 May 1902 § 4: invitation to the 50th anniversary of the Germa-nisches Nationalmuseum. In SUOMI IV:1 (1903), p. 12; 14 May 1878 Smithsonian Institution to the FLS. Historical archive of the FLS. Correspondence 65. Mf 1984:3. SKS, KIA.
467 Chaline 1998, pp. XIV, 51.
468 Paasivirta 1978, pp. 131-132, 175-179, 216-219, 234-238, 316-317, 334-339, 368-373; Kirby 2006, pp.
129-147; Meinander 2006, pp. 143-146.
and institutions became necessary devices in finding companions.469 The FLS spread information on its activities via German and American directories: regularly in Min-erva: Handbuch der Gelehrten Welt and occasionally in the Handbook to Learned Societies of the Carnegie Institution.470 The map in Figure 4.1 indicates that, in one way or another, the existence of the society became known in Europe, and in the United States.
Figure 4.1. Exchange partners of the Finnish Literature Society 1833-1914 (total 39).471 The Nordic countries
The long history of Finland as a part of Sweden had created close contacts across the Gulf of Bothnia. Family connections, friendships and business contacts all facili-tated the scholarly communication, as did also Finnish emigrants such as Arwidsson.
At the beginning, even the language was common, but a barrier was formed when
469 On French directories, see Chaline 1998, pp. 17-27.
470 25 May 1898 Karl J. Trübner Verlagsbuchhandlung to the FLS. Correspondence 99. Mf 2003:16, 14 July 1903 Deutsche Geschichtsblätter to the FLS; 20 July 1903 Library of Congress, Carnegie
470 25 May 1898 Karl J. Trübner Verlagsbuchhandlung to the FLS. Correspondence 99. Mf 2003:16, 14 July 1903 Deutsche Geschichtsblätter to the FLS; 20 July 1903 Library of Congress, Carnegie