Insights Into Reconstructing the History of the Making of Ivan Franko’s Collected Works in 25 Volumes

The article outlines the stages of the history preparing an edition of Ivan Franko’s works in 25 volumes by systematizing literary studies and studying archive sources. The events are described in organic connection with historical and socio-political circumstances, which made it possible to show the meanders of Franko’s legacy reaching his readers. Some of the unknown documents are introduced into scientific circulation. The research methods of choice were textual and source analysis and synthesis. The use of these tools made it possible to establish little-known facts about the history of the collected works, trace the announcement of the contents of the individual volumes in the press, analyze the obstacles encountered, and find out the reasons for the sudden collapse of this publishing initiative.