FACES OF ART: Typical furniture in Łódź city centre apartments at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (contribution to the research)

• Authors: Pawlak, Magdalena

Abstracts

EN

This article describes and explores the furniture chosen for apartments typical of the middle class and petty bourgeoisie of Łódź. These premises were located in the tenement buildings in, or around, the vicinity of Piotrkowska Street. These apartments typically comprised of four to six rooms, which were divided into two areas: the public area (including the sitting room, dining room, study or smoking room) and the private area (including the bedroom, children’s room, and boudoir room), which were connected via a hallway. The apartments were completed by a utility area (with kitchen, bathroom, and servant’s room), which was located in the annexe of the building. The design of the apartments’ interior reflected bourgeois standards and, thus, the public rooms should have been in a uniform style. However, a lack of funds and an excessive adherence to tradition or the frivolous following of fashion trends resulted in the rooms being overloaded with all types of furniture and trinkets. The private rooms were of the same eclectic character. The only exception to this was the children’s room, where the furniture was usually limited to essential equipment. The furniture for Łódź apartments often came from the local furniture and carpentry factories (inter alia: Karol Wutke, Wilhelm Thiede, Alojzy Klose) or shops which sold furniture and household equipment for all types of interiors. Furniture for apartments could also be bought on the secondary market, from private sellers or through agencies engaged in sales.

Keywords

EN

Łódź; kamienica; wyposażenie wnętrz; burżuazja

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Gdański
• Journal: Miscellanea Anthropologica et Sociologica
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 14(1)

Contributors

author

Pawlak, Magdalena

Identifiers

DOI

10.5604/20842937.1094039