This article aims to shed light on the editorial workshop of Jakub Siebeneicher’s publishing house which operated in Krakow during the years 1583–1604. The typographer found himself in the shadow of many other outstanding owners of publishing houses at the time, such as Andrzej Piotrkowczyk, Maciej Wirzbięta and Jan Januszowski. This does not mean, however, that Siebeneicher’s work and the typographic level of his publications were inferior. Although he specialised in small publications, the renown of his publishing house was created by exclusive publications, such as Postylla by Jakub Wujek (1584) and Kronika polska by Marcin Bielski (1597). The article presents the characteristic features of publications from Jakub Siebeneicher’s publishing house as well as comments on the application of specific typographic elements in the printer’s book designs. There is also an analysis of the next stage of research into the publishing activities of the Siebeneicher family in  Krakow (1515–1627), leading to the preparation of an edition containing all the printing resources of the publishing house.

Szczepański Square in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries was the location of one of the most important markets in the centre of Krakow. It was possible to shop not only at the market stalls and stands but also in the tens of shops located in the townhouses and buildings surrounding the square, including delicatessens, butcher shops, bakeries, pharmacies, cosmetic shops and household product shops. In addition, there were also businesses selling technical, electronic and radio equipment as well as vehicle parts. Shops with fabrics, clo62 thes and haberdashery were also well represented. The businesses differed not only in terms of their products, but also in their size and organisational form. There were large, efficiently managed firms with well-organised work systems offering exclusive assortments, as well as small shops with modest decor. It is worth mentioning that Szczepański Square was also the location for agricultural organisations and institutions, with important associations and institutions promoting modern methods of farming and also companies where crops could  be sold and equipment and seed purchased.

Due to the development of chancery forms in the 19th and 20th centuries, the activity of seal makers and engravers began to develop dynamically. The increased activity of Krakow’s seal makers and dealers is confirmed by, among others, press advertisements in which we can find a wide ranging offer of such enterprises. Technological development and ongoing economic and agricultural changes also had an impact on engraving firms. Mechanization became widespread, with rubber also being introduced into the production of seals, which enabled the faster delivery of more orders. In the discussed period, tens of seal makers and dealers operated in Krakow. The companies and craftsmen mentioned in the article do not constitute a whole, because there was no separate registration for them. Because of the lack of source material, it was difficult to find the dates on which some workshops were established or closed down. This also applies to the dates of company location and profile changes. We believe, however, that this previously unexamined element of everyday life of Krakow’s residents should be presented and research into the unnoticed activities of local craft workers should be initiated.

In addition to the testament left by the deceased, it was necessary to prepare an estate inventory of his possessions in order to finalise the details of the inheritance. This was a legally-valid document and its preparation was closely defined by the rights concerning a given level of society, with its range depending on the material status of the deceased as well as the meticulousness of the person preparing the inventory.
The published inventory of Jan Miłoszewski, treasurer of the Ciechanow area and a bailiff of the Krakow county who deceased in 1725, was recorded in the local Krakow records. It depicts the estate of the nobleman from Lesser Poland and testifies to the possession of, among others, equipment and various types of weapons,  ssential in the life of a man of his social status, as well as objects connected with agricultural and domestic life. It is worth paying attention to the vast library, almost certainly to a large extent inherited from previous generations of his family, but also useful for carrying out social functions. The material wealth described in the inventory suggests that it was collected by generations of the family. Although little information remains about J. Miłoszewski, the large number of entries he made in court records as a bailiff testify to his placement among the hierarchy of the gentry in Lesser Poland.

The memoirs of Professor Marian Friedberg are part of the events to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his death and are divided into two parts. In the first one, the author introduces the figure and scientific achievements of the professor with particular emphasis on his activities during the periods of occupation and Stalinism. Professor Friedberg was the director of the Krakow Town Archives of Former Records in the years 1939–1952, until the time it was integrated into the State Archives in Krakow. The author lists his heroic actions in those difficult times during the constant battle to prevent the collections from being broken up by the German archival authorities. She also emphasises the professor’s great engagement in shaping the future Polish archival workers. The second part discusses the rich scientific legacy of the professor and his wife, Maria Mazankówna-Friedbergowa,  as well as the family materials contained in it.

The beginnings of the Office of the Krakow Town Council Archive are connected with the local-government reform that took place in Poland in 1990. This led to a major reorganisation in the activities of councils in Poland, including the Krakow Town Council. Initially, the Archive was located in the basement of the Town Hall building at 3–4 Wszystkich Świętych (All Saints) Square, and from 1999 in the building at 116a Dobrego Pasterza Street. Currently, the Office of the Archive operates in a new modern building which the employees and archival resources were moved to in June 2019. At the end of 2019, the Archive had a collection of almost 20,000 metres of records. The main body of the Archive’s resources consists of records deposited by 40 organisational units of the Council. The most important collections include: the collection of registration books from the town of Krakow, consisting of 25,770 books covering the period from 1930 to 1961, the collection of Registers of Borough Residents, containing information about the inhabitants of the boroughs in Krakow County covering the period from the 1930s to the 1950s, the collection of the so-called Registers of Permanent Residents, and the collection of Resident Cards, which were kept for each resident of the town and collected according to the residence  address. A particularly interesting collection, which is still open, is the collection of the so-called evidence envelopes, in other words, documents connected with the issuance of ID cards. The evidence envelopes often contain pre-war ID cards, passports or kennkarten.