Tondel Janusz, Covers of books and magazines: from the period of Young Poland and the interwar period, from Wyspianski to Strzeminski in the University Library in Torun

Tondel Janusz, Covers of books and magazines: from the period of Young Poland and the interwar period, from Wyspianski to Strzeminski in the University Library in Torun, Scientific Publishing House of the Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun 2019, p. 446 pages: illustrations, dimensions 21 x 26 cm. No pre-title page. Booklet cover with original wrapper. Tear, soiling of the wrapper on the spine.

The publication presents three hundred book covers from the collection of the University Library in Torun, published in the years of Young Poland and the interwar era. From this relatively rich publishing period were selected covers containing compositions and color parts , bindings distinguished by aesthetic value. They were taken care of by designers who were artists of such class as Stanisław Wyspiański, Józef Mehoffer, Tadeusz Gronowski, Stefan Norblin, Edward Okuń, Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Tymon Niesiołowski, Władysław Strzemiński. A significant place in the collection is occupied by graphic covers, mainly woodcuts. There are also lithographic covers and linocut block prints. Soft covers dominate, made of cardboard, cardboard, parchment. Several of them are covered with canvas. The covers presented in this volume document the achievements of Polish culture in the visual art of Young Poland, one of the most interesting eras in the history of Polish culture, and of the interwar years of great importance for the developing design and graphic design. These three hundred covers - covering primarily volumes of poetry, much less frequently prose works and publications from other fields of writing, such as history, philosophy, art and journalism - constitute one of the most interesting assemblages of antique books in the collection of the University Library in Torun.