Grabowski, Ambroży (EN)

Grabowski Ambroży, *7 December 1782 Kęty, †3 August 1868 Krakow, Polish archivist, historian and bookseller. Self-taught. He worked in Kraków. From 1797, he served an apprenticeship at A.I. Groebel’s bookshop and publishing house, which he managed between 1804 and 1817 on behalf of successive owners (Groebel’s widow, and subsequently her husband, J. Marecki). From 1818 to 1837, he ran his own bookshop. A member and activist of the Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Muzyki. A collector of engravings, advertisements, manuscripts, medals and works of art; he collected materials relating to theatrical performances with music, and made extracts from manuscripts and literary works. He maintained a lively correspondence with eminent scholars and artists; he was friends with J.M. Ossoliński. He published a number of articles and several books, in which he included interesting information on Polish music of the 16th–17th centuries, and in particular on musical life in Krakow.

Literature: Wspomnienia Ambrożego Grabowskiego, ed. S. Estreicher, 2 parts, Krakow 1909; Listy Józefa Maksymiliana Ossolińskiego do Ambrożego Grabowskiego, ed. B. Horodyski, Wrocław 1950.