Bożena Lesiak-Przybył

The collection of the National Archives in Cracow contain 66 photographs related to Jan Matejko. They were taken in the period from 1860s till 1939, mostly by photographers from Cracow and Warsaw, but the authorship of some of them remains unknown. Due to their subject, the photographs may be divided into four groups: 1) presenting Jan Matejko (6 likenesses) and documenting his funeral (2); 2) photographs documenting the artist’s works (47 items); 3) photographs related to Jan Matejko’s house as a museum (7 photographs) and 4) photographs taken during Jan Matejko’s 100th birthday anniversary (4 photos). Most of the photographs, that is 47, have been donated. But the Archives also tried to purchase some key materials. This way 14 (or 15) photographies have been obtained. The provenance of 3 of the photographs remains unknown.

The photographs gathered in the National Archives in Cracow create an interesting collection, which, although not very wide, contains some precious items (works lost or damaged during World War II), which are particularly important for the researchers interested in the artist’s life and activity. Especially on the grounds that every photograph related to Jan Matejko is of undeniable value.

Aleksandra Apolonia Czechówna (1839–1923) was the daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra nee Zielińska. The journal she was writing for her entire life – almost un interruptedly for 68 years (1856–1923) is kept in the National Archive in Krakow under file no. 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (former file no. IT 428/1–428/44). It is a great source pre senting cultural and social life of Krakow during the second half of 19th century and first two decades of the 20th century.

During hot summer months people were willing to leave the city. They would often go to the countryside but also the “the waters” – spa towns, which offered not only a ther apeutic activity but also leisure and entertainment. Numerous doctors were more and more often promoting spa treatment. Aleksandra Czechówna, living in Krakow, was also trying to spend the dog days of summer away from the city. She would often visit her family in the countryside or go for trips around Krakow. But to help her health or just accompanying her parents, several times she had also a chance to visit spa towns, mostly Polish ones but also abroad.

The presented two accounts from Aleksandra Czechówna’s trips to “the baths” – to Iwonicz in 1875 and to Szczawnica 1880, create an interesting contributory studies of the daily life of that times when the habit of holiday trips and spa treatment was emerging and developing dynamically.

The text comes from two volumes of Aleksandra Czechówna’s “Journal”: vol. 14 file no. 29/1582/14 (former file no. IT 428/14) and vol. 18, file no. 29/1582/18 (former file no. IT 428/18).

The collection of early printed books stored in the National Archives in Krakow has not been processed so far. This article aims to approximate the current state of knowledge regarding the contents of the collection. The historic book collection of the Archives, represented by both Polish and foreign printed books covering various subjects, numbers slightly over 650 works issued before 1801. Included in this number are 28 early printed books from the 16th century, 210 from the 17th century and 413 from the 18th century. The oldest one – Liber horarum canonicarum secundum veram rubricam sive notulam ecclesiae Cracoviensis – was issued in 1508 by the publishing house of Jan Haller in Krakow. The origins of the early printed books vary – they come from donations, acquisitions of archival materials as well as purchases. The greatest number come from donations, with the following donors worthy of special mention: Ambroży Grabowski, Józef Seruga and Franciszek Biesiadecki, as well as Józef Muczkowski, Karol Estreicher and others. An invaluable part of the collection (61 works) are the printed books from the library of Hieronim Pinocci (1612–1676), a merchant, royal secretary and diplomat, acquired from the town archives at the end of the 19th century. Many works, especially those concerning the history of Krakow, were also purchased using the funds of the Archives. The early printed books gathered in the library of the National Archives in Krakow create a particularly valuable collection, which may also be a source of information concerning provenance.

Aleksandra Czechówna (1839–1923) was the daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra, née Zielińska. Her Dziennik z całego życia (Journal from the whole life) ... written almost constantly for over 60 years (1856–1923), is stored in the National Archives in Krakow, ref. no. 29/428/1–29/428/44 (former ref. no. IT 428/1–428/44). It represents a wonderful source presenting the cultural, social and daily life of the town of Krakow in the second half of the 19th century, as well as in the first two decades of the 20th century. The text placed here comes from two volumes of the “Journal”. There is a short fragment from volume 38, ref. no. 29/1582/38 (former ref. no. IT 428/38) as well as the main text from volume 39, ref. no. 29/1582/39 (former ref. no. IT 428/39). It contains entries concerning the outbreak of the First World War and the first year of the fighting. The presented selection of “Journal” was written by a woman carefully observing events which were of great importance for Poles. The author probably mainly used press reports, but also tried to use personal accounts. She is quite well informed and up-to-date with the developing events. The “Journal”, although it is not complete, supplies a wide range of information about events taking place on the eastern front, especially in Krakow and its immediate vicinity. The diary also brings the reality of the daily life, full of care and uncertainty, closer to the reader. It provides a picture of the moods and views prevalent among the residents of Krakow.

Aleksandra Czechówna (1839–1923) was a daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra née Zielińska. Her “Dziennik z całego życia (Journal from the whole life)...”, written almost constantly for over 60 years (1856–1923), is stored in the National Archives in Krakow, ref. no. 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (former ref. no. IT 428/1–428/44). It represents a wonderful source presenting the cultural, social and daily life of the town of Krakow in the second half of the 19th century, as well as in the first two decades of the 20th century. The text placed here comes from two volumes of the “Journal”: vol. 39, ref. no. 29/1582/39 (former ref. no. IT 428/39) as well as vol. 40, ref. no. 29/1582/40 (former ref. no. IT 428/40). It represents a continuation of the entries concerning the outbreak of World War I and the first year of fighting, and describes the second year of the ongoing war activities (see “Krakowski Rocznik Archiwalny” 2014, vol. 20, pp. 111–132). The presented text was written by an intelligent woman, who perceptively observed the events that were so important for Poles. The author mainly used press reports and clerical announcements, but also made use of personal accounts. She is reasonably well informed and up-to-date with the development of events on the eastern front, especially in Krakow and its surroundings, but also in Europe. The journal brings the reader closer to the realities of daily life at the time, full of worry and uncertainty. Sometimes there is information about the deteriorating situation in the country and increasing problems with provisions. It also gives a picture of the moods among the residents of Krakow.

Aleksandra Czechówna (1839–1923) was the daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra, née Zielińska. Her “Journal from the whole life...”, written for over 60 years (1856– 1923), is stored in the National Archives in Krakow, ref. no. 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (former ref. no. IT 428/1–428/44). It represents a great source that depicts the cultural, social and daily life of Krakow in the second half of the 19th century, and the first two decades of the 20th century.
The text placed here comes from two volumes of the “Journal”: volume 40, ref. no. 29/1582/40 (former ref. no. IT 428/40) and volume 41, ref. no. 29/1582/41 (former ref. no. IT 428/41). It represents a continuation of the entries concerning the first two years of World War I and describes the third year of the ongoing fight (see. “Krakowski Rocznik Archiwalny” 2014, Vol. 20, pp. 111–132; 2015, Vol. 21, pp. 133–163).
The presented text was written by an intelligent, perceptive observer of events of great importance for Poles. The author mainly used press reports and clerical announcements, but also made use of personal accounts. She was well informed and up-to-date about the 170 Bożena Lesiak-Przybył development of events. The journal represents an illustration of the increasingly difficult daily life of the town’s residents in successive years of the ongoing war, but also provides a description of the feelings of Poles and their great expectations connected with the creation of a Polish state. In addition, it contains a very interesting vision of the usage of “wartime” scientific and technical inventions in daily life.

Aleksandra Czechówna (1839–1923) was the daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra, née Zielińska. Her “Journal from the whole life...”, written for almost 70 years (1856– 1923), is stored in the National Archives in Krakow, ref. no. 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (former ref. no. IT 428/1–428/44). It represents a great source that depicts the cultural, social and daily life of Krakow in the second half of the 19th century, and the first two decades of the 20th century.
The text placed here comes from volume 42 of the “Journal”, ref. no. 29/1582/42 (former ref. no. IT 428/42). It represents a continuation of the entries concerning the first four years of World War I and describes the fifth year of the ongoing fight (see “Krakowski Rocznik Archiwalny” 2014, vol. 20, pp. 111–132; 2015, vol. 21, pp. 133–163; 2016, vol. 22, pp. 139–170).
The presented text was written by a perceptive observer of events of great importance for Poles. The author mainly used press reports and clerical announcements, but also made use of personal accounts. The description of the situation is, therefore, incomplete, especially with regard to politics. It does, however, provide a wide range of information about the events taking place on the eastern front as well as in Krakow. It paints a picture of the difficult daily life, full of worries, sacrifices and shortages, of the residents of the city in the next year of the ongoing war. It also provides a description of the feeling of Poles, their constant uncertainty, but also the great expectations connected with recreating a Polish state. When the dreams of Poles finally became a reality and Poland regained independence, beside the great joy, A. Czechówna was still worried by the international situation and internal conflicts.

Aleksandra Czechówna (1839–1923) was the daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra, née Zielińska. Her “Journal from the whole life...”, written for almost 70 years (1856– 1923), is stored in the National Archives in Krakow, ref. no. 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (former ref. no. IT 428/1–428/44). It represents a great source that depicts the cultural, social and daily life of Krakow in the second half of the 19th century, and the first two decades of the 20th century. The text placed here comes from two volumes of the “Journal”: volume 41, ref. no. 29/1582/41 (former ref. no. IT 428/41) and volume 42, ref. no. 29/1582/42 (former ref. no. IT 428/42). It represents a continuation of the entries concerning the first three years of World War I and describes the fourth year of the ongoing fight (see “Krakowski Rocznik Archiwalny” 2014, vol. 20, pp. 111–132; 2015, vol. 21, pp. 133–163; 2016, vol. 22, pp. 139–170). The presented text was written by a perceptive observer of events of great importance for Poles. The author mainly used press reports and clerical announcements, but also made use of personal accounts. The description of the situation is, therefore, incomplete, especially with regard to politics. It does, however, provide a wide range of information about the events taking place on the eastern front as well as in Krakow. It paints a picture of the increasingly difficult daily life, full of worries, sacrifices and shortages, of the residents of the city in the next year of the ongoing war. It also provides a description of the feeling of Poles, their constant uncertainty, fears and great expectations connected with recreating a Polish state. A. Czechówna was worried in particular by events in Russia and the fears concerning their potential influence on the war.

Aleksandra Apolonia Czechówna (1839–1923) was a daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra née Zielińska. Her Journal of the whole life..., written almost without breaks for almost 68 years (1856– 1923), is kept in the National Archives in Cracow with a reference no 29/1582/1–29/1582/44 (old reference numbers IT 428/1–428/44). It constitutes an excellent source material depicting cultural, social and moral life of Cracow in the second half of the 19th century and two first decades of the 20th century. The development of touring, which nowadays is called tourism, began on the turn of the 18th and 19th century, and Cracow’s suburbs were already famous for their beauty. People eagerly visited Zwierzyniec, Łobzów, Krzeszowice, Czerna, Bielany, Swoszowice, Tyniec or Mogiła. However, Ojców and Wieliczka were considered to be the most worth visiting. Ojców and the valley of the Prądnik River,  where it is situated, due to their beautiful nature, Wieliczka because of its salt mine, one of the oldest ones in the world. Together with her parents and sister, Aleksandra Czechówna also went on such excursions. In the summer of 1856 she was in Ojców, Grodzisko and Pieskowa Skała. Next year, in October, on the day of the miners’ celebrations, she went to the Wieliczka salt mines. The text presented includes colourful accounts, full of delight, written after her return home by then young Aleksandra Czechówna. Picturesque and full of charm views of Ojców’s neighbourhood and mysterious, sometimes fairytale-like underground tunnels of the mine stimulated her vivid ima- gination. The text comes from two subsequent volumes of Aleksandra Czechówna’s Journal: volume 1, refernece no 29/1582/1 (old reference no IT 428/1) and from volume 2, refrence no 29/1582/2 (old reference no IT 428/2).

Aleksandra Apolonia Czechówna (1839–1923) was a daughter of Tomasz Czech and Aleksandra née Zielińska. Her Diary of the entire life... written for 65 years (1856–1923) without almost any breaks is kept in National Archives in Cracow, reference number 29/428/1–29/428/44 (previous reference numbers IT 428/1–428/44). It is an excellent source depicting cultural, social and moral life in the city of Cracow in the second half of the 19th century and during the first two decades of the 20th century as it includes the accounts of the author’s everyday life as well as the information about the celebrations, national ceremonies or the jubilees of the meritorious people. The passage presented below comes from the successive two volumes of Aleksandra Czechówna’s Diary, volume 4 and volume 5. It includes the entries in which the author describes the exhibition of the antiquities which she visited. Organised by the Cracow Scientific Society in September 1858, the exhibition of antiquities and art monuments became a big cultural event, not only for Cracow but also for the entire partitioned country. It gained unabated interest of the local public, but also of the fellow – countrymen coming from abroad. Initially, the visitors had access to the hall and three rooms on the first floor. As more and more exhibits were being brought, gradually more rooms were being opened. Eventually the exhibition was held in six rooms and a large vestibule. It was also decided to prolong it – till the 8th of January 1859. At that time Aleksandra Czechówna was almost 19. Together with her sister Izabela she participated in Cracow’s social and cultural life. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that Aleksandra and her family visited the exhibition of antiquities. She saw the exhibition twice. For the first time just after its opening and then, when it was enriched with new objects, right before its closing.