ENThis photographed edition of the first publications of the poem Metai (The Seasons) (Das Jahr, 1818) and the fables (1824) by the father of Lithuanian literature, Kristijonas Donelaitis, has been prepared in commemoration of the 300th anniversary of his birth. In the collection of fables, all the texts are in Lithuanian, and in the edition of Metai, approximately 12 percent of the contents accompany German texts by Martin Ludwig Rhesa (Martynas Liudvikas Rėza); earlier translations of these texts have been thoroughly updated and supplemented with scholarly commentaries. The publication also contains other authentic sources revealing the cultural-historical circumstances of the first editions of Donelaitis's works (reviews, private and public letters, etc.). Rhesa's creative contribution is analysed in various aspects in the articles prepared by a group of authors. [...]. [From the publication]