Bartholomäus Pitiscus (1561–1613)

Ranke in the Lobby of the Archive: Metaphors and Conditions of Historical Research

“Probably you have heard about the papers and collections of the Venetian Doge Mario Foscarini. These papers contain a lot of the most important things. Besides fourteen cahiers there are more than a hundred volumes that I have to look through. Here [in the Viennese Hofbibliothek], I have a splendid and amorous tête-à-tête with the object of my love, a beautiful Italian [eine schöne Italienerin...