![Adolf Dygasiński, Zając [1900]](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/4/Adolf-Dygasinski-Zajac-1900_6ac030e33dc5a-full-81452800_1790980324-6ac030e4c6dd3.jpg "Adolf Dygasiński, Zając [1900]")
Adolf Dygasiński, Zając [1900]
Title: The Hare. A Novel.
Author: Adolf Dygasiński (1839–1902) [novelist, short-story writer, and journalist; one of the leading representatives of naturalism in Polish literature; participant in the January Uprising].
Publisher: Warsaw, Published by Jan Fiszer.
Year of publication: 1900.
Format: 19 cm.
Volume: [4], 261 pp.
Binding: Publisher’s cloth binding.
The first book edition of *Zając* (“The Hare”), one of Adolf Dygasiński’s most important novels, was published in 1900 by the Warsaw publisher Jan Fiszer. The work weaves together two intertwined storylines: the tale of the eponymous hare and its age-old enemy, the fox, and the story of Jakub Malwa and his family, with the action taking place on the border between two neighboring villages, Malwicz and Morzelan. In the naturalist tradition, the author depicts the natural world and the human world as a single arena of struggle for survival, governed by chance, instinct, and cruelty, to which both animals and humans are equally subject. The novel is part of the canon of Polish nature-themed prose and continues to be reprinted to this day —the National Library’s catalog lists its successive editions from the 1920s through postwar editions, including those published in exile in 1944 in Jerusalem for Polish schools in the East.
Adolf Dygasiński was born on March 7, 1839, in Niegosławice. In 1862, he began his studies at the Main School in Warsaw—in linguistics, natural sciences, and geography—which were interrupted by his participation in the January Uprising; after his arrest, he spent half a year in prison in Olkusz, and later continued his studies at Charles University in Prague. He worked as a private tutor in the homes of landowners; among his students were Wacław Karczewski and his cousin, the future painter Jacek Malczewski. He was a proponent of positivism, a researcher of folk culture, and a promoter of modern pedagogy inspired by the ideas of Pestalozzi, Fröbel, and Spencer. He made his literary debut late in life, at the age of 44, with the short story “Za krowę” (“For a Cow”) in *Przegląd Tygodniowy* (1883). In 1890, he traveled to Brazil as a correspondent for *Kurier Warszawski* to document the lives of Polish emigrants; the result of this journey was *Letters from a Trip to Brazil* (1891). He left behind over 180 short stories and novels, including *Beldonka*, *Pan Jędrzej Piszczalski*, *As*, *Zając*, and *Gody życia*. His works were translated into Russian and German, and the influence of his prose is evident in the works of Władysław Orkan and Władysław Reymont. He died in 1902 after many months of illness and was laid to rest at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
Provenance: the piece bears a “Stefa Krajewski” ownership stamp.
The first book edition of this classic Polish naturalist novel, in its original publisher’s binding—a must-have for collectors of late 19th- and early 20th-century literature, lovers of nature-themed prose, and collectors of first editions of Polish classics.
The text block is intact and complete; the paper shows natural yellowing consistent with the age of the print. The publisher’s cloth binding has minor signs of wear on the spine and the edges of the covers.
Catalog ID: 17297-19-A-X
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Title: The Hare. A Novel.
Author: Adolf Dygasiński (1839–1902) [novelist, short-story writer, and journalist; one of the leading representatives of naturalism in Polish literature; participant in the January Uprising].
Publisher: Warsaw, Published by Jan Fiszer.
Year of publication: 1900.
Format: 19 cm.
Volume: [4], 261 pp.
Binding: Publisher’s cloth binding.
The first book edition of *Zając* (“The Hare”), one of Adolf Dygasiński’s most important novels, was published in 1900 by the Warsaw publisher Jan Fiszer. The work weaves together two intertwined storylines: the tale of the eponymous hare and its age-old enemy, the fox, and the story of Jakub Malwa and his family, with the action taking place on the border between two neighboring villages, Malwicz and Morzelan. In the naturalist tradition, the author depicts the natural world and the human world as a single arena of struggle for survival, governed by chance, instinct, and cruelty, to which both animals and humans are equally subject. The novel is part of the canon of Polish nature-themed prose and continues to be reprinted to this day —the National Library’s catalog lists its successive editions from the 1920s through postwar editions, including those published in exile in 1944 in Jerusalem for Polish schools in the East.
Adolf Dygasiński was born on March 7, 1839, in Niegosławice. In 1862, he began his studies at the Main School in Warsaw—in linguistics, natural sciences, and geography—which were interrupted by his participation in the January Uprising; after his arrest, he spent half a year in prison in Olkusz, and later continued his studies at Charles University in Prague. He worked as a private tutor in the homes of landowners; among his students were Wacław Karczewski and his cousin, the future painter Jacek Malczewski. He was a proponent of positivism, a researcher of folk culture, and a promoter of modern pedagogy inspired by the ideas of Pestalozzi, Fröbel, and Spencer. He made his literary debut late in life, at the age of 44, with the short story “Za krowę” (“For a Cow”) in *Przegląd Tygodniowy* (1883). In 1890, he traveled to Brazil as a correspondent for *Kurier Warszawski* to document the lives of Polish emigrants; the result of this journey was *Letters from a Trip to Brazil* (1891). He left behind over 180 short stories and novels, including *Beldonka*, *Pan Jędrzej Piszczalski*, *As*, *Zając*, and *Gody życia*. His works were translated into Russian and German, and the influence of his prose is evident in the works of Władysław Orkan and Władysław Reymont. He died in 1902 after many months of illness and was laid to rest at Powązki Cemetery in Warsaw.
Provenance: the piece bears a “Stefa Krajewski” ownership stamp.
The first book edition of this classic Polish naturalist novel, in its original publisher’s binding—a must-have for collectors of late 19th- and early 20th-century literature, lovers of nature-themed prose, and collectors of first editions of Polish classics.
The text block is intact and complete; the paper shows natural yellowing consistent with the age of the print. The publisher’s cloth binding has minor signs of wear on the spine and the edges of the covers.
Catalog ID: 17297-19-A-X
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
