Incunables from the Konrad Stahel’s and Matthias Preinlein’s printing press located in Brno, have survived, with a couple exceptions, in a few, or single unique copies. Each new item that can enlarge our source base is therefore of a great importance for further research. This applies to the incunabulum, Psalterium Olomucense, from 1499, preserved in four specimens known to date. As research has so far been limited to mainly bibliographical recording, little do we know about their origin and readership. The focal point of this study is another extant copy of this edition, stored in the Municipal Museum in Velká Bíteš. Although it has been located there since the end of the 19th century, it has escaped the attention of researchers. This copy contains a number of commemorative records from the first half of the 16th century, which give an account of the religious life in the town of Velká Bíteš. The study offers transcriptions and interpretation of these records, paying attention to other secondary marks – drawings and readers’ notes. The study is not only a research report; it also compares the newly discovered copy with hitherto known specimens, providing bibliographical descriptions, investigating their provenance, and analysing readers’ marks. In addition to the Psalterium, the article mentions other liturgical books from Velká Bíteš (a printed missal and a manuscript gradual), which also contain commemorative records dating back to the middle of the 17th century. Among other findings besides adding a new bibliographical record of a domestic incunable, the study reveals various ways of using psalters published by Stahel’s and Preinlein’s press in Brno. Some people used psalters for purely religious purposes, while others sought to capture events of various types (family, religious, political, military, and economic ones). A thorough analysis of these publications can therefore bring interesting information for not only librarians, but also regional historians. The description of the newly discovered specimen of books printed before the 16th century can also inspire future research in various archives, libraries, museum collections, and depositories, which may lead to identification of other unique copies.
The history of Olomouc book printing remains mostly unexplored. Literature often brings distorted information, which must first be verified by studying sources. An example may be the Olomouc printer Vít Jindřich Ettel († 1669), about whom some researchers have accumulated a large amount of unverified or misleading information. Nevertheless, numerous archival sources from which it is possible to reconstruct the life and activities of this book printer are available as well. Attention should, however, also be paid to his wife, Anna Alžběta Ettelová, who, after her husband’s death, administered the local printing house alone for three years (until January 1673). Multiple archival sources make it possible to study her activities in further detail and to learn more not only about the customers of the printing house but also about the book trade in Moravia at that time.