Pokłosie pamiętnikarskie powstania styczniowego – rekonesans bibliograficzno-statystyczny druków zwartych za lata 1865–1939
Memoirist legacy of the January Uprising – a statistical bibliographic reconnaissance of non-serial publications from the period of 1865–1939

Author(s): Jolanta Sikorska-Kulesza
Subject(s): Archiving, Recent History (1900 till today), 19th Century
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: January Uprising; publication of diaries; 1864–1939 period; bibliographies
Summary/Abstract: The bibliographies of Polish memoirs by Edward Maliszewski and Józef Skrzypek record 240 memoirs issued as separate publications in Polish from 1864 to 1939: in partitioned Poland and in exile, and subsequently in the Second Polish Republic. Statistically, three memoir books were published each year. The highest number in a single year occurred in the years preceding the 50th anniversary of the Uprising and in the anniversary year. Over seven years (1907–1913), readers received 69 titles, which accounts for about 28% of the titles for the entire 75 years’ period. The first memoirs were published immediately after the fall of the Uprising in exile (Bendlikon, Paris, Leipzig), and from the late 1870s, they were published in the Polish territories. Throughout the entire period, Galicia held primacy in the Uprising memoirs market, with the largest centers being Lviv and Kraków. The Russian partition came in second, even though it was only after 1905, after the censorship conditions changed and the policy towards Poles was eased, that works about the Uprising could be published. After 1913, more titles were published there than in Galicia. Ultimately, Warsaw placed third, behind Lviv and Krakow, while Poznań came in fourth. The biggest role was played by commercial publishers, including the largest publishing houses. Several diarists published their texts at their own expense. Since the first decade of the 20th century, various organizations and research institutions have also undertaken publishing initiatives. The memoirs published until 1939 generally do not meet today’s editorial standards and the requirements of researchers. There is a need for their critical reedition, as well as a need to develop a bibliography of the January Uprising diaries (manuscripts, printed books, press articles).

• Details
• Contents