HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS The District Museum in Leszno The

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS The District Museum in Leszno The

HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS
The District Museum in Leszno
The Leszno museum's historical collections are made up of objects taken over after world War Two
from the former museum in Wygnańczyce (military artefacts, artistic handicraft), collections from St
John's church (artistic handicraft) and donations from private people (coins and medals). Initially, the
exhibits were categorized in accordance with the period they came from. Later historic-artistic objects
have been separated from things that belonged to a newly-created collection of art, which has
brought more structure to the collection.
In the 1950s and 60s, systematic purchases and numerous donations enriched the collections. In the
following years the collection of archival material was stated and objects connected with the
Bohemian Brethren Community in Leszno were reclaimed from Germany. The historical collection has
been continually expanding through purchases and donations.
Now it consists of over 4,500 thousand exhibits. They include artistic handicraft (over 800 exhibits),
numismatic objects and medals (over 2000), military artefacts (about 200), archival collections (about
240) and post cards (over 1000). Listed in an auxiliary inventory, photographs (over 1,000 pieces) are
also part of this collection.
Numismatic objects consist of coins and notes, the former being dominant. They origins range from
the period of the Roman Empire to our day. They are made of a variety of metal alloys and represent
European, Asian and American countries. Most come from European countries, the others only
account for a small proportion of the collection; some are single items. The oldest is a denarius of
Mark Aurelius (161-180), the newest - a coin depicting the polish national emblem that was struck in
1992.
Polish coins make the bulk of the collection. Among them are half-pence and denars from the
Jagiellon times. The period of the rule of Sigismund III Vasa is represented by numerous one-and-half
pence, three pence, ducats, sixpence and shillings (szeląg), meanwhile two pence, sixpence
Lithuanian "ort" and "boratynka" come from the epoch of King john Casimir. Numerous Crown pence,
half-pence, three-pence and sixpence represent the period of August III of Saxony and Stanisław
August Poniatowski. The period of the Warsaw Duchy has two-zlotys, the Polish Kingdom - pence, the
Prussianruled part of Poland - pence, Poznań three-pence, marks, memorial marks and pfennigs. The
latter ones account for the majority: 1, 2 and 3-pfennings from the period 1850-1876 (called Scheide
Mûnze). The collection also includes thalers (coronation, mourning and celebration ones) and Polish
substitute coins struck for regiments, towns and land estates. Pence, zlotys and coins struck to
commemorate important national anniversaries, represent the period from 1919 to 1939. The period
of Communist Poland has small change: aluminium 1, 2 and five pence with the date 1949 on them,
and twenty- and fifty-pence and zlotys from the years 1957-1979.
There is a treasure consisting of 539 coins from the times of Władysław II Jagiellon. It contains Polish,
Bohemian and Hungarian items. There are a significant number of Crown halfpence struck at the
Cracow and Wschowa mint.
The collection of notes includes Polish and Russian items. The oldest are "treasury bills" issued in
1794, and the newest the notes from 1988. Most are from the 2nd Polish Republic and the Communist
Poland, least from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The treasury tickets bills deserve particular attention as they were the first paper money in Poland.
They were introduced in circulation and commonly used in Warsaw (in the provinces they were much
less common) during the Kościuszko Uprising. The collection holds two items from this group a 4
zlotys and 25 zlotys note. These notes were printed in Warsaw's printing houses of Dufour and Gröll,
in accordance with the resolutions of the Supreme National Council of 8 June, 13 August and 4 September 1794.
The collection's medals, medallions and plaques were largely made by using striking or casting. They
come from polish medallist workshops and the State Mint, and a small number were designed in
Germany, France and Italy. The oldest one was made in the 16th century and the newest in the early
21st century. A few are the 18th and 19th centuries. Polish medal designers include names, such as: J.
Aumiller, J. Stasiński, G. Kowalski, B. Lewiński, J. Murlewski, E. Olszewska-Borys, J. Małeta, E. Nosek,
S. Repeta and Z. Łukowiak. Foreign medallists worth mentioning are the following: P. Merker, David
d'Angers, C. Voigt, J. G. Junke, M. Hahn, F. Pohlmann, K. Vasut and A. Konecny.
Medals account for the largest group of the collection in question. They include commemorative
regional items and there is also a medal issued on the occasion of the coronation of Stanisław
Leszczyński for the king of Poland.
Commemorative regional medals were designed in the workshop of Z. Łukowiak, an artist from
Rawicz. They predominantly reflect facts connected with the town of Leszno. They also depict people
who have made outstanding contributions to Leszno and south-western Wielkopolska.
A medallion depicting Adam Mickiewicz is a very interesting item. !t is the first original cast which is
attested by a hallmark of a Parisian casting workshop on the reverse.
Among the medal s are military honours awarded for the participation in the Second World Was and
regiment emblems of the 55th infantry regiment and 17th lancer regiment. The two regiments were
stationed in Leszno during the inter-war period.
Other honours form a small part of the collection, such as for example Rifle Fraternity honours. They
are a valuable material that documents the activities of rifle fraternities in Leszno and surrounding
towns.
The historic collection's military artefacts include blank weapons, firearms and military uniforms. Blank
weapons are divided into edged and staff weapons. They are represented by a Polish 17th century
decorative sabre "karabela" and 19thand 20th century Polish and Prussian sabres. Worth attention is for
example an off-duty Prussian cavalry sabre 1880/90, made by the factory of Aleksander Coppel,
Solingen. Such sabres were used prior to the First World War. Other interesting items include a Polish
officer's sabre 1921/22 and asabre presented by soldiers of the 17th Lancer Regiment to Colonel J.
Dobrowolski. There are also polish 20th - century exercise swords. A 19th-century hunting cutlass dates
back to the Middle Ages when it was used by plebeian infantry and from the mid 16th century was also
used by huntsmen. Staff weapons are represented by partisans (c. 17th), and halberds and 18th
century forks used to unseat mounted enemies. There are knife-type bayonets: polish, German and
Russian to "Mauser" and "Mosin" rifles.
The firearms include 18th and 19'h-century pistols and rifles from polish, French and German factories.
A real gem is a pair of duelling pistols (1825) made by the French factory "Le Page á Paris". This
group of short firearms was a result of the 19th century fashion for duelling. Having the lives of the
duelling men in mind the gunsmiths made every effort to provide the duelling firearms with best
possible balance and reliable locks. Firearms of this type often represented higher standards than
other firearms.
Military uniforms and accoutrements include uniforms of the 17th Lancer Regiment and four-cornered
caps, forage caps, gas masks, military binoculars and a map case.
The archival collections consist of documents that have no usable value any more, but deserve very
much to be preserved. These resources include municipal archives (confirmation of privileges, proofs
of citizenship), craft guild documents (statutes, craftsmen's recommendations, minutes, master's
certificates), documents of associations and a sports club (minutes, correspondence, honourable
mentions). There are also documents concerning the Wielkopolskie Uprising, the history of the 17th
Lancer Regiment and the 55th Infantry Regiment. The collection also has pamphlets and posters from
the times of the Communist Poland. The archival documents span a period from the 17th to the 20th
centuries.
Among the municipal archives particular attention should be paid to confirmations of town privileges
for the towns Leszno and Wschowa. In the first of them King John 111 Sobieski confirms in 1676 all
the privileges granted hitherto to the town of Leszno. The other privilege was confirmed by the last
king of Poland, Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1792. The document is written on parchment and
provided with a wax seal that is put in a wooden box bound in leather.
Craft guild documents - statutes - form a separate collection. The statutes of the guild of
haberdashers were confirmed by the Lithuanian Gamekeeper Aleksander Józef Sułkowski, the owner
of the leszczyńsko-opalińskie estates in 1741. However, the document proper is earlier and dates from
1692. The statutes of the craft guild of Wschowa bakers were confirmed in 1791 by King Stanisław
August Poniatowski. Craft guild recommendations make up a substantial collection. They date from
the 171li and 18th centuries and concern a variety of era f t guilds in operation in many towns of
Wielkopolska. The oldest recommendation was issued in 1667 for a member of the guild of butchers
in the town Śmigiel. Another type of craft guild documents are master's certifiicates from the inter-war
period.
A collection of source files concerning fraternities and associations is no less substantial than the craft
guild documents. They are related to the "Sokół" Gymnastics Association, Rifle Fraternities, and
Industrial Fraternities. They include articles, minutes of meetings, correspondence, lists of shots fired
during target practice.
The postcard collection includes over 1,000 postcards. They date from the late 19th and first half of
the 20th century. They have been divided into picture postcards, patriotic postcards and ethnographic
postcards. The picture postcards depict monuments of architecture and date from the period 18981945. Most of them show the architecture of Leszno. Architecture of towns and villages in southwestern Wielkopolska is also documented. Published in Berlin by Karl Sommer, the oldest picture
postcard depicts Hotel de Pologne (now housing the Stanisław Grochowiak Town Public Library in
today's Bolesława Chrobrego Street). Postcards from the interwar period show the buildings around
the Market Place and in adjacent streets. We have very detailed representation of the buildings in the
Market Place's eastern part thanks to the postcard "Grüss aus Lissa i. P. Markt (Ostseite)", published
by Stanistaw Chmara in Leszno. Postcards from the time of the Nazi occupation depict public
buildings.
Patriotic postcards show the tragic history of the Polish nation. They date from the early 20th century.
They can be divided into those depicting reproductions of paintings by Polish painters, national
heroes, commemorative ones with national symbols, and postcards related to the "Sokół" association.
The collection's most striking are reproductions of Polish paintings: Wojciech Kossak's Oath taking by
T. Kościuszko in Cracow's Market Place on 24 March 1794, Jan Matejko's Warsaw Diet and a series of
postcards showing pictures by Artur Grottger. Postcards were also published on the occasion of Easter
and Christmas. They show national symbols, patriotic poem s and inscriptions "Faith", "Hope" and
"Love", The last group of patriotic postcards is connected with the "Sokół" Gymnastics Associations.
The frequent regional, district, and general rallies of this organization provided an opportunity to
publishing them.
Ethnographic postcards depict folk costumes. They come from the areas of Wielkopolska, Małopolska
and Mazowsze and were published between 1904 and 1915. A significant part of them are
reproductions of paintings made earlier by polish painters.
Not very much appreciated until recently, postcards are now considered a specific chronicle of the
past. They perform an important role in promoting the image of our region and country, its scenery,
architectural monuments, historic events and people involved, and customs. They are a valuable
source of knowledge about the past.
The inventory of photographs includes over 1,000 items dating to the late 19th and 20th centuries.
They have been divided into portraits, architecture, social, economic, military and genre photographs.
Military photographs account for the greatest proportion. They are related to two Leszno regiments
(the 17th Lancers and 55th Infantry), the Wielkopolskie Uprising and the Nazi occupation.
The oldest photograph is a picture made by Franz Kassner in 1893. It depicts Stanisław Karwowski,
the son of Adam, a teacher of polish language and literature and mathematics in Leszno's
comprehensive school who wrote many books, for example "Chronicles of the town Gniezno", "From
the past of Silesia" , "History of the Great Poznań Duchy". The newest photograph is a portrait made
by an unknown photographer in 1942 depicting Andrzej Kasten, later a sculptor who designed a
monument to Major Jan "Ponury" Piwnik, Commander of the Home Army Groups in the Świętokrzyskie
Mountains.
The photograph collections are now significant documentation and iconographic source for history
researchers provided that they have previously been properly described in family albums.