Bartynowski’s Papers Materyały do ikonografii królów, zbroi i wojska polskiego

Władysław Bartynowski was a famous and remarkable numismatist active in Cracow at the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century. In fact, he was a collector of various interests. Since early adulthood he used to collect old prints on various topics, including portrayals of famous Polish historical figures, coats of arms, old prints front pages, front page decorative frames etc. In 1882, the collection contained already 4200 units and it was not the end of his activity as a collector. Bartynowski used to work as an antiquar- ian so apart from the prints he owned, many more passed through his hands. He used to purchase them, sell and exchange. After some time, he became very well acquainted with this kind of works. The copies he produced were often so perfect that modern connoisseurs are sometimes unable to distinguish them from their originals. A piece of the collection was donated to the National Museum in Krakow.

At the end of his life, Bartynowski decided to publish a collection of prints to serve educational purposes for those who had no access to the originals. To this end, he hired a talented drawer, Karol Wawrosz, who arranged tables of prints redrawn by him or otherwise copied from originals according to their subject. The basis and source for these catalogues were the collections gathered throughout many years as well as Władysław Bartynowski’s knowledge.

This is how the work titled “Materyały do ikonografii królów zbroi i wojska polskiego” came into being. It consists of three big files titled Portrayals of kings, Army and Weapons and a notebook titled Materials containing detailed descriptions for tables and drawings. The work was published in print in 1908. It is in black and white, however a part of the volume was extra painted in watercolour by Bronisława Uhmowa, Władysław Bartynowski’s daughter, which add to the beauty of this work. Currently, the Bartynowski’s Files are available in a few libraries but only the black and white version. The paper presents the files in colour based on the copy from the family archive. Individual boards from these files, including the coloured ones, are sometimes to be found in antiquarian bookshops. Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper information on individual pages, they are commonly called the Wawrosz Files.

Władysław Bartynowski was a famous and remarkable numismatist active in Cracow at the end of 19th and the beginning of 20th century. In fact, he was a collector of various interests. Since early adulthood he used to collect old prints on various topics, including portrayals of famous Polish historical figures, coats of arms, old prints front pages, front page decorative frames etc. In 1882, the collection contained already 4200 units and it was not the end of his activity as a collector. Bartynowski used to work as an antiquar- ian so apart from the prints he owned, many more passed through his hands. He used to purchase them, sell and exchange. After some time, he became very well acquainted with this kind of works. The copies he produced were often so perfect that modern connoisseurs are sometimes unable to distinguish them from their originals. A piece of the collection was donated to the National Museum in Krakow.

At the end of his life, Bartynowski decided to publish a collection of prints to serve educational purposes for those who had no access to the originals. To this end, he hired a talented drawer, Karol Wawrosz, who arranged tables of prints redrawn by him or otherwise copied from originals according to their subject. The basis and source for these catalogues were the collections gathered throughout many years as well as Władysław Bartynowski’s knowledge.

This is how the work titled “Materyały do ikonografii królów zbroi i wojska polskiego” came into being. It consists of three big files titled Portrayals of kings, Army and Weapons and a notebook titled Materials containing detailed descriptions for tables and drawings. The work was published in print in 1908. It is in black and white, however a part of the volume was extra painted in watercolour by Bronisława Uhmowa, Władysław Bartynowski’s daughter, which add to the beauty of this work. Currently, the Bartynowski’s Files are available in a few libraries but only the black and white version. The paper presents the files in colour based on the copy from the family archive. Individual boards from these files, including the coloured ones, are sometimes to be found in antiquarian bookshops. Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper information on individual pages, they are commonly called the Wawrosz Files.