The collection is named after Johan Ihre (1707-1780). It comprises 287 volumes from the 15th century to the 19th century.
Johan Ihre was a linguist and the incumbent of the Johan Skytte Chair in Eloquence and Governance at Uppsala University, which in those days was in effect a department of philology - not political science as it is today. Ihre is the father of modern comparative linguistic research in Sweden; he was an internationally respected scholar of Gothic, the language of the Silver Bible. His research also encompassed the Edda and the history of runes.
The greater part of the Ihre Collection consists of Johan Ihre's own papers and the documents he used for his studies. Among these are examples of notes by colleagues and predecessors such as Olof Rudbeck (the younger). Even documents that belonged to Johan Ihre's father, his children and grandchildren make up part of the collection. Similarly there are medical documents, mainly from Abraham Bäck (1713-1795), a doctor who married into the Ihre family.
Catalogue
Grape, Anders: Ihreska handskriftssamlingen i Uppsala universitetsbibliotek, I-II, Uppsala, 1949.
The Section for Manuscripts and Music is happy to assist you with your searches. You can request a document and study it the same day, here in the Special Reading Room in the Library.
