The article is an attempt at systemizing and interpreting trompe l'œil motifs and devices – from single objects shown as if resting on a page, through those altering the appearance of the page, such as folded page corners, up to still lifes – that constitute elements of book-of-friendship entries in one particular collection. Examples are used to show their relations with the entry text: illusionistic elements could illustrate, but also extend or complement it. It was particularly the quodlibet-type compositions that could allude to the book’s owner and the shared memories, forming as if a visual counterpart of ‘memorabilia’. The researched motifs do not always comply with all the criteria of trompe l’œil; they do, however, aspire to being illusionistic, additionally fulfilling well the tasks that are associated with books of friendship.

New research perspectives on books of friendshipThe article, based on a study of books of friendship alba amicorum in the collection of the University Library in Wrocław, aims at presenting new research perspectives on this kind of manuscripts. The author outlines the history of books of friendship and gives an explanation on the state of research footnotes 11 to 19, focusing on methods and undertaken topics. In the subsequent sections, alba amicorum are presented as “Objects and elements of the network,” “Collections” and “Performances.” The section “Objects and network elements of the network” refers to the return to materiality and the idea of the agency of things. It presents alba amicorum as material entities not only carriers of certain information or pieces of art, as well as an active part in the development and sustaining of social networks. Each book of friendship is both a collection of autographs, visual objects, quotes from literature and a collectible piece. This approach was presented in the section titled “Collections.” At the same time, alba amicorum gathered in museums or libraries tend to lose their performative character, presented in the last section.

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