Issue 1

2024

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.1

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Editorial team

Deputy Editors-in-Chief Barbara Bienias, Danuta Ciesielska, Anna Trojanowska

Editor-in-Chief Zbigniew Tucholski

Issue content

Articles

Leśniczówka Kaczew (Szwedówka) – dawny dwór myśliwski Radziwiłłów oraz rys historyczny leśnictwa dóbr nieborowskich

Andrzej Cichy, Zbigniew Tucholski

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 9-66

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.001.19533

This monographic study focuses on the history of the construction and functioning of ‘Szwedówka,’ a wooden hunting lodge in the Radziwiłł estate in the Nieborów Forests. The building, erected through the efforts of Fr. Michał Piotr Radziwiłł , was initially utilized by the Warsaw industrialist and avid hunter Aleksander Szwede but later underwent various changes. Originally serving as a representative hunting lodge near the forester’s lodge of the Nieborów Estate, it later became a post-war forester’s lodge after a fire incident.

The last forester of the Radziwiłł family, Stanisław Hruszka, resided there until the mid-1970s when it became the headquarters of Kaczew Forestry. Subsequently, the family of the final forester, Włodzimierz Bogaciński, lived there. The study places the creation and functioning of the facility within the broader context of the history of forestry in the Nieborów Estate. The narrative presents extensive biographies of individuals associated with the Estate. Aleksander Szwede emerges as a crucial figure in the development of Polish food and metal industries. He is also known for his role as a social activist and patriot.

A significant aspect of the study comprises the technical and conservation description of the building. Preceded by a formal and stylistic analysis, this section narrows down the period of its construction to approximately 1900–1902. This is essential due to the lack of sources enabling the determination of authorship of the design and the date of construction. The manor’s design incorporates elements reminiscent of both regional and Zakopane solutions, making it an object of considerable historical and aesthetic value.

In 2020, the Łódź Conservator, recognizing its significance, included ‘Szwedówka’ in the register of monuments of the Skierniewice district. Despite this, this unique monument of wooden construction, currently managed by the Skierniewice Forest District, is in poor technical condition. The most important conservation postulate of this study is the need to quickly secure the facility and place it under conservation protection by entering it in the register of monuments. This lays the groundwork for the actual conservation efforts aimed at preserving the monument in situ or, as a secondary consideration, its relocation to the Łowicz Ethnographic Park in Maurzyce.

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Steller’s Sea Cow – Benedykt Dybowski’s Little-known Contributions to European Zoological Museography

Piotr Daszkiewicz, Marcin Jan Kamiński, Dariusz Iwan

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 67-76

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.002.19534

The article presents the contributions of Benedykt Dybowski to the natural history of Steller’s sea cow – a marine mammal species, that had become extinct in the 18^thc. Dybowski’s impact is highlighted in his iconic discoveries concerning the biology of this species. Namely, he revealed and described the sexual dimorphism of the Steller’s sea cow and was the first to propose the climatic hypothesis concerning its extinction. Furthermore, Dybowski sent the largest number of skulls and bones representing this species to European museums in the 19^th c. Today, these artifacts are deposited in seven museums in five countries (England, Ukraine, Poland, Austria, and Monaco). Unfortunately, specimens sent to Polish scientific institutions were looted or destroyed during both world wars. Sources examined in the present paper picture Dybowski as a prominent zoologist who worked within an international network of other outstanding specialists of that time – especially Władysław Taczanowski of the Warsaw Zoological Cabinet. The documents analyzed here shed new light on the work of naturalists and museum workers, revealing behind-the-scenes complexities of purchasing scarce and valuable zoological specimens.

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Samochód dla Kowalskiego. Polaków drogi do masowej motoryzacji i codzienność motoryzacyjna w okresie 1971–1989

Hubert Wilk

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 77-106

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.003.19535

The text aims to provide an insight into the everyday automotive life of owners of passenger cars during the last two decades of the Polish People’s Republic. The turning point of the 1960s and 1970s in the communist bloc countries marked a shift towards consumption, with a particular emphasis on individual motorization. In Poland, the new ruling team under Edward Gierek announced a significant increase in the production of passenger cars. The licensing agreement for manufacturing the Fiat 126p at the Passenger Car Factory was intended to be a milestone in the development of individual motorization. The people enthusiastically embraced the government’s plans, and there was a mass prepayment for the ‘maluch’ (Fiat 126p). Unfortunately, throughout the two decades discussed, it was impossible to meet the popular demand for this car fully. The altered sales system in 1981 failed due to production shortages, and the waiting period extended to even ten years. As a result, Poles turned massively towards car markets. Acquiring a car and its subsequent maintenance involved specific expenses. Therefore, the possibilities of obtaining and using a car were tied to a certain income level. The sharp increase in the number of cars significantly impacted leisure activities, especially the development of automotive tourism.

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Communications and materials

Mineralogiczna kolekcja w Gabinecie Historii Naturalnej księżnej Anny z Sapiehów Jabłonowskiej

Iwona Arabas

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 109-142

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.004.19536

The article concerns one of the mineralogical parts of the Cabinet of Natural History of Duchess Anna Jabłonowska (1728–1800), created in Siemiatycze. In 1802, the collection was purchased from Jabłonowska’s heirs by the envoys of Tsar Alexander I and transported to the Moscow University. At that time, two catalogues were created: one in French (1801) as a sale offer and the second one in Russian (1802), compiled by academicians during the packing of the collection before its transport to Moscow. Thanks to these two catalogues preserved in the Archives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg Branch (SPbF ARAN), it is possible today to reconstruct the contents of the Cabinet, which was burned in Moscow in 1812. The mineralogical part is presented according to the contemporary classification, allowing for the determination of its scientific value. Both discovered documents complement each other and confirm the richness of the collection.

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Kilka słów o parze ochronnych okularów w zbiorach Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie

Monika Paś

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 134-149

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.005.19537

The collection of the National Museum in Krakow features glasses with lenses made of transparent, colorless mica. Produced by Max Raphael in Wrocław from 1868, likely until the late 19th c., these glasses were marketed as protective gear for workers in steelworks, and others engaged in tasks exposing their eyes to mechanical or chemical hazards that could lead to impaired visual acuity or blindness.

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BIOGRAPHIES

Andrzeja Walickiego biografia intelektualna. Ostatnie dziesięciolecie

Joanna Schiller-Walicka

Quarterly Journal of the History of Science and Technology, Volume 69, Issue 1, 2024, pp. 153-184

https://doi.org/10.4467/0023589XKHNT.24.006.19538

The article presents the academic and journalistic activity of the exceptional historian of ideas, researcher of the Polish and Russian socio-philosophical thought of the 19th and 20th c., Professor Andrzej Walicki (15 May 1930–20 August 2020), in the last decade of his life. He authored a few of his own academic biographies. The last one, Idee i ludzie. Próba autobiografii (‘Ideas and People. An Attempt at the Autobiography’), published in 2010, showcases his research until 2009. Despite turning 80 in 2010, he continued his academic work, and the last decade of his life brought new publications, as well as new translations and editions of his works. He was also active in the public debate about politics and science, publishing press articles and giving interviews. This paper is therefore a closure of Andrzej Walicki’s intellectual ‘autobiography.’ The article concludes with the complete list of his publications since 2010, which also serves as the main bibliography of this article.

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