The first Lithuanian folk songs were recorded in manuscript in the early 18th century; Lithuanian folk songs were included in <em></em> (1778-79), and Singspiel (1782). A more systematic interest arose around (East Prussia) and (Lithuania under the Russian Empire).
The Königsberg professor Ludwig published the first Lithuanian folk-song collection, (1825), included Lithuanian folk songs in his poetry book (2 vols, 1809-25), and discussed the material in a letter to Goethe. Interest at the University of Vilnius was initiated by the Warsaw Society of Friends of Learning (1800-32), which established a commission in 1804 to study and document Lithuanian folk culture before its apprehended extinction. A new educational statute obliged schools to collect local information, also on the origin and characteristics of the language. Vilnius professors, especially Ivan , encouraged students to conduct fieldwork; among these were Simonas (, 1829) and Simonas (whose Samogitian fairy tales, were only published in 1932); Daukantas published songs of Samogitians (<em></em>) in 1846. Ludwik Adam (1813–1846) collected Samogitian proverbs, discussed them in <em></em> (1840), and included them in his (1842) and <em></em> (1846). Around that time, Lithuanian folk songs were also finding their way into Polish poetry, e.g. by . After the of Vilnius University in 1832, Lithuanian folklore interest shifted to Russian-based institutions, as noted further below.
Meanwhile, in Königsberg, Friedrich collected folk songs, G.H.F. published the substantial (1853), and A. provided a few pieces of Lithuanian oral literature in (1882). Lithuanian oral literature was published by the <em>Litauische literarische Gesellschaft</em> in , e.g. the collections of Christian , which included melodies (<em>,</em> 1886, 1889).
A wider audience was reached by the , which used oral literature in its performative activities, such as song festivals and theatre performances. The scholarly interest in Lithuanian oral literature was also present in a wider European context, linked to the archaic stature of the language. A. included songs, fairy tales and other oral literature in his (1857); A. and F.K. published (1882).
By now, a significant impulse emanated from the Russian Geographic Society, which established its north-western department in Vilnius (1867) with the aim of studying Lithuanian-Latvian ethnography. It organized field trips to Lithuania with the purpose of collecting ethnographic material. Among the most active Russian scholars who were involved in the society’s activities were Filip , Vsevolod , and Eduard Wolter (Eduards Volters/Eduardas Vоlteris; 1856–1941), a prominent Latvian-born, Russian-trained philologist of Baltic-German extraction who in his later life became a prominent scholar, librarian, and professor in Lithuania. Fortunatov and Miller published <em></em> (1872) following a field trip in the previous year.
Oral literature was actively collected by Lithuanian intellectuals, including Mikalojus , Motiejus (, 1867), and Laurynas (who published oral literature in his calendars). The most substantial work was done by the brothers Jonas and Antanas Juška. Antanas started collecting in 1862 with the support of scholars such as J. and Izmail , publishing three volumes of Lithuanian songs (<em></em>) in 1880-82, an overview of wedding customs (1880), a collection of Lithuanian wedding songs (<em></em>, 1883), and Lithuanian folk melodies (, 1900). Most of these were published in Russia, where publication in the Latin alphabet was not forbidden as it was in the territory of Lithuania.
At the turn of the century, the pre-eminent figure of Jonas made a significant impact with his collections of Lithuanian fairy tales (<em>Lietuviškos pasakos</em>; 1898, 1902; <em></em>, 1903-05). He also used these to support his wayward theories on the Asian origins of the Lithuanian nation.
