Zelče, Vita (zin. red.). Dāvida Grīntāla atmiņas par Krišjāni Valdemāru. 1904. (Memoires of Dāvids Grīntāls about Krišjānis Valdemārs. 1904. Rīga: Latvijas Valsts arhīvu ģenerāldirekcija; Latvijas Valsts vēstures arhīvs, 2008. 112. lpp.: il. (Vēstures Avoti. V sēj.)

ISNB 978-9984-390-445-9

 

The book Dāvida Grīntāla atmiņas par Krišjāni Valdemāru. 1904 (Memoires of Dāvids Grīntāls about Krišjānis Valdemārs. 1904) is the fifth volume of the „Vēstures Avoti” (Historical Sources) of the magazine Latvijas Arhīvi  and grew out of the Project „Krišjānis Valdemārs. Lietišķā un privātā sarakste”.

 

The memoires of Dāvids Grītāls (1829–1904) about Krišjānis Valdemārs (1825–1891) appeared in 1904 and the master copy is kept in the Latvian State Historical Acrhive. They contain information about the Latvian community in St. Petersburg in the 1850s–1860s, about the storied newspaper Pēterburgas Avīzes, the so-called Novgorod case, the struggle of the Baltic German nobility against the Latvian National Awakening, etc. These memoires are not only important testimonies about Krišjānis Valdemārs but also about the Latvian community of the 19th century and its values.

 

During his lifetime Dāvids Grīntāls has tried different occupations and activities. He was a peasant, gardener, owner of the inn, assistant of the editorial board of the newspaper Pēterburgas Avīzes, Neo-Latvian being under police supervision, trader, hotel employee, couplets author, etc. The memoires of D. Grīntāls who had no educational background were written in folk language and give striking evidence of then memoires’ pencraft.