ŁOZIŃSKI W. - Życie polskie w dawnych wiekach. 3rd ed. illustr.

ŁOZIŃSKI Władysław - Życie polskie w dawnych wiekach. Third edition, illustrated, revised and supplemented. Lwow 1912, Nakł. Księg. H. Altenberg. 4, pp. VIII, 259, plates. oryg. fn. decorated with preserved pamphlet cover, upper trim in gilt.
Empireum 94, 309. Covers rubbed and heavily soiled, new boards, yellowing of paper in places, lack of color pastedown with portrait of Barbara Radziwillowna, torn last color pastedown (At the market near Gdansk), otherwise good condition. "Polish Life" is one of the peak scientific achievements of W. Lozinski. It had more than a dozen editions, including several typographically exquisite ones. The third edition of 1912 is widely regarded as the most beautiful. In the introduction, the author thanks Alfred Altenberg for "sparing no expense" and for his "effective assistance in the search and selection of engravings and for his efforts to reproduce them artistically." The collected illustrative material is indeed impressive, and the technical quality of the reproductions is very high. The book's contemporary publishers cite in their promotional materials the diary of Jan Lechon, a prominent poet who died in exile, in which he recalls that the illustrations appeared in his dreams. Lozinski's book, which emphasized the splendor, richness and colorfulness of Old Polish life, strengthened Polish morale and served, like Sienkiewicz's trilogy, to "enrich hearts," although the author himself makes no secret that sometimes the phenomena he describes should be called "rich misery."