Difficult years of war and financial problems of the Scientific Society of Przemysl resulted in decision of the Board of the Society to liquidate the library collection in 1951. Around 14,000 volumes of books were divided and sent to various institutions. One of the beneficiaries of TPN became the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. Specifically the library, which purchased 7,565 volumes of books in 1956. In this figure there were publications of Przemysl publishing houses, some of which little-known to various researchers of bookstore-publishing market in town. 92 titles, printed in Przemysl and discovered at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University are here described. They complement the publication of Anna Siciak Przemysl Prints 1754-1939. They are also a testimony of the intellectual activity of the local environment of the city, because among the authors were secondary school teachers, lawyers, officials and clergy. The issues presented in those publications reflects the diverse interestsof the local intelligence.
A majority of the earlier scholarly publications (literary and linguistic) contain negative assessments of the Czech language from the 17th and 18th centuries. This valuation is in accordance with the political, social, religious and cultural developments in Bohemia after the battle of White Mountain (Bílá hora) on 8 November 1620. Following the battle, the Habsburg Monarchy was established and Bohemia was yet again subjected to the Catholic Church. The function of the Czech language was limited with German becoming the main language spoken by the Bohemian aristocracy and city dwellers. German was the official language and, along with Latin, the language of science. As a result of the functional restrictions, Czech books were printed in limited literary fields, especially religious, historical and practically-oriented texts. The language in which they were written was described as degraded, unstable and incorrect. It was connected with the decline of the standard language, deformed by dialectisms, neologisms and an enormous number of loan words from German. However, is this interpretation of the Czech language from the 17th and 18th centuries correct? I have analysed over 100 prints from the 16th to the 18th centuries, focusing on four phonological phenomena: prothetic v-, dipthongisation ú- > ou- and ý (í) > ej and the change é > í. These changes occurred in texts from the 16th century (or even earlier), then some of them were repressed (ej, í in word ending, prothetic v-) or fixed as a part of Czech print (initial ou-, v- by words stabilized with this nonetymological consonant). It is evident that 1) there was continuous development instead of discontinuity, 2) the earlier negative estimation of the Czech language after 1620 was inaccurate. It is imperative to investigate the Czech language from a historical perspective in detail, without prejudice or ideology.
This paper explores the Dutch perceptions of the Polish king John III Sobieski before his famous victory over the Turks at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. Sobieski’s military triumphs and rise to power in the 1670s elicited various favourable responses from the Dutch Republic, most notably several prints by the etcher and engraver Romeyn de Hooghe. His prints laid the foundation for Sobieski’s image as a great European and Christian military leader, but also a specifically Polish and Catholic hero. Sobieski’s war efforts and the image formed of him by De Hooghe cohered with the negative Dutch perceptions of the Turks, as well as with Poland-Lithuania’s reputation as a bulwark of Christendom. The countless glorifying prints, poems and other European responses to Sobieski after his victory at Vienna were in many cases inspired by the image of the Polish monarch created in the Northern Netherlands during the 1670s.
The role of portraits copied with the use of mechanical reproduction techniques played in the praxis of the rule of King of Poland Sigismund I the Old (1507-1548) is analysed; the effigies included the King and his family members, and were copied on prints, coins, medals, as well as book bindings. The portraits of the type were created with the recipients from outside the narrow circle at the Cracow court in mind; executed in larger numbers of copies, they were meant to reach the public who did not stay in direct contact with the monarch, often even unaware of what he looked like. The identification of the portrayed individuals was to a higher degree than in the case of traditional portraits dependent on conventional media, such as inscriptions, signs, or the applied presentation formula. The ideological sense contained in those elements has been analysed, and an attempt has been made to ascertain models and/or inspiration sources for respective works.
PL
Celem artykułu jest ustalenie roli, jaką w praktyce sprawowania władzy przez króla Polski Zygmunta I Starego (1507-1548) odgrywały portrety powielane za sprawą mechanicznych technik reprodukcji (wizerunki króla i członków jego rodziny na drukach, monetach, medalach i oprawach ksiąg). Portrety tego typu powstawały z myślą o odbiorcach spoza wąskiego grona krakowskiego dworu, wykonywano je w większej liczbie egzemplarzy z myślą o dotarciu do odbiorców nie mających bezpośredniego kontaktu z monarchą, a częstokroć nawet nieznających jego wyglądu. Określenie w nich tożsamości portretowanych osób, w stopniu znacznie wyższym niż w przypadku tradycyjnych konterfektów, było uzależnione od konwencjonalnych środków przekazu, takich jak inskrypcje, znaki oraz zastosowane formuły obrazowe. Analizie poddano sens ideowy zawarty w tych elementach oraz podjęto próbę ustalenia wzorów i/lub źródeł inspiracji dla poszczególnych dzieł.
The study analyzes how the content of prayer books changes in relation to aspects such as the title and form of the book, and the gender of the target reader. The study works with the prayer book Rajská růže [Paradise Rose] and examines three different title variants (Ljbezně kwětaucý Ragská Růže, Duchownj Ragská Růže, Libokwětaucý Ragská Růže). The examined corpus includes both printed and handwritten prayer books. In addition to the title and the form of the book (i.e., printed vs. handwritten), the gender of the intended reader is taken into consideration (i.e., whether it was intended for men, women, both sexes or unspecified). A content analysis and comparison of different variants of the examined prayer books allows us to observe significant changes. Although the prayer book Rajská růže may initially seem as if it is multiple editions of a single work, in reality, the content varies considerably in the specific versions of the book, largely determined by the form of the book and the particular title.
Small typographic elements such as pilcrows, pointing fingers, and type-ornaments optically separated the typeset and helped the reader to grasp the text. The latter also boosted the aesthetic quality of the printed work. However, whether such material occurs in a book and to what extent varies with time, genre, and printing house. Any specific use reflects not only the typesetter practice but can also indicate the intentions of the particular printer (printing house) or reading habits of the intended readership. Considering that the Brethren bishops carefully scrutinised and supervised every edition printed in their illegal printing house in Ivančice (South Moravia), one can assume a thoughtful and discreet attitude towards the content, likewise the typography. The present study explores the visual practices adopted by the Brethren for the typesetting of hymnbooks, Bibles, and confessions. The aim is to provide a detailed account of the design and function of the Brethren pilcrows and printers’ ornaments based on a typography analysis of all known pieces printed between 1562-1578 on the Brethren press. The results provide strong evidence that the Brethren developed a sophisticated typographical system to strengthen and partly to reform the Brethren liturgy. The unique way of the Brethren for marking stanzas and repetition within the printed hymns using pilcrows and “trefoil” is an entirely new finding. Whatsmore, a comparison of the Brethren’s book with similar production published by the local printers indicates unprecedented precision of the Brethren’s typesetters devoted to the graphic design of the liturgical texts (hymnbooks, Bibles). Considering the extant historical sources, the outcomes presented here indicate a systematic effort to implement a unified order into Brethren liturgy urged by the leading Brethren bishops.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.