![Aleksander Semkowicz, Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century [1926]](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/70/Aleksander-Semkowicz-Editions-of-Adam-Mickiewiczs-Works-Over-the-Course-of-a-Century-1926_6ac0309f4512f-full-76595600_1790980256-6ac030a0bb015.jpg "Aleksander Semkowicz, Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century [1926]")
Aleksander Semkowicz, Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century [1926]
Title: Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century. [On the original editions published during the poet’s lifetime, 1822–1855. A Bibliophile’s Tale].
Author: Aleksander Semkowicz (1885–1954) [bookbinder, Mickiewicz scholar, and bibliophile; first director of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature]
Publisher: Lviv, Książnica-Atlas T.N.S.W.
Year of publication: 1926.
Format: 20 cm.
Volume: [2], 230 pp., numerous illustrations.
Binding: paperback / publishing-grade paper.
The publication, released in Lviv in 1926, bears the full title “Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century: On the Original Editions Published During the Poet’s Lifetime, 1822–1855: A Bibliophile’s Tale,” and, as this title suggests, combines the form of a casual bibliophile’s narrative with the rigor of a bibliographic description. Semkowicz discusses exclusively the original editions that appeared during Mickiewicz’s lifetime, from his Vilnius debut in 1822 to the Parisian prints. The time frame of 1822–1855 spans the period from the publication of the first volume of *Poezje* to the death of Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) in Constantinople. The text is supplemented by numerous illustrations: images of title pages and portraits, often full-page. These illustrations make the book a practical tool, allowing readers to compare a piece with the original and identify different edition variants. The author also provides information on the rarity of individual editions and their variants in the antiquarian book market. The book was published by the Lviv-based Książnica-Atlas of the Society of Higher Education Teachers, a publishing house known for its educational and cartographic publications, and remains to this day an essential compendium for collectors of early editions of Mickiewicz’s works.
Aleksander Semkowicz (1885–1954) combined three roles that intertwined: bookbinder-artist, Mickiewicz scholar, and bibliophile. This was also the title of the exhibition catalog of his work, prepared by Elżbieta Bukowska and published in Warsaw in 1992 by the Warsaw Printing Museum. A bookbinder by trade, he published works in this field, including *Bookbinding: A Brief Outline of the History of Decorative Bookbinding* (1948). He was the first director of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw. His 1926 bibliophile essay established him among Mickiewicz scholars, and his subsequent research led him to his magnum opus, *Bibliography of the Works of Adam Mickiewicz* (Warsaw, State Publishing Institute, 1958; 226 pp., with an index). This book is sometimes found in custom bindings, such as leather with decorative elements and colored page edges; this piece has retained its original published form.
The provenance of this piece remains unknown—there are no institutional stamps or ownership inscriptions.
A must-have for collectors of early editions of Mickiewicz, bibliographers, bookbinders, and scholars of Romantic publishing.
The text block is intact; the paper has spots and discoloration, with yellowing on the first and last pages. The paper paperback cover has numerous spots and creases along the edges; the back cover is loose.
Catalog ID: 13334-22-A-X
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Title: Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century. [On the original editions published during the poet’s lifetime, 1822–1855. A Bibliophile’s Tale].
Author: Aleksander Semkowicz (1885–1954) [bookbinder, Mickiewicz scholar, and bibliophile; first director of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature]
Publisher: Lviv, Książnica-Atlas T.N.S.W.
Year of publication: 1926.
Format: 20 cm.
Volume: [2], 230 pp., numerous illustrations.
Binding: paperback / publishing-grade paper.
The publication, released in Lviv in 1926, bears the full title “Editions of Adam Mickiewicz’s Works Over the Course of a Century: On the Original Editions Published During the Poet’s Lifetime, 1822–1855: A Bibliophile’s Tale,” and, as this title suggests, combines the form of a casual bibliophile’s narrative with the rigor of a bibliographic description. Semkowicz discusses exclusively the original editions that appeared during Mickiewicz’s lifetime, from his Vilnius debut in 1822 to the Parisian prints. The time frame of 1822–1855 spans the period from the publication of the first volume of *Poezje* to the death of Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855) in Constantinople. The text is supplemented by numerous illustrations: images of title pages and portraits, often full-page. These illustrations make the book a practical tool, allowing readers to compare a piece with the original and identify different edition variants. The author also provides information on the rarity of individual editions and their variants in the antiquarian book market. The book was published by the Lviv-based Książnica-Atlas of the Society of Higher Education Teachers, a publishing house known for its educational and cartographic publications, and remains to this day an essential compendium for collectors of early editions of Mickiewicz’s works.
Aleksander Semkowicz (1885–1954) combined three roles that intertwined: bookbinder-artist, Mickiewicz scholar, and bibliophile. This was also the title of the exhibition catalog of his work, prepared by Elżbieta Bukowska and published in Warsaw in 1992 by the Warsaw Printing Museum. A bookbinder by trade, he published works in this field, including *Bookbinding: A Brief Outline of the History of Decorative Bookbinding* (1948). He was the first director of the Adam Mickiewicz Museum of Literature in Warsaw. His 1926 bibliophile essay established him among Mickiewicz scholars, and his subsequent research led him to his magnum opus, *Bibliography of the Works of Adam Mickiewicz* (Warsaw, State Publishing Institute, 1958; 226 pp., with an index). This book is sometimes found in custom bindings, such as leather with decorative elements and colored page edges; this piece has retained its original published form.
The provenance of this piece remains unknown—there are no institutional stamps or ownership inscriptions.
A must-have for collectors of early editions of Mickiewicz, bibliographers, bookbinders, and scholars of Romantic publishing.
The text block is intact; the paper has spots and discoloration, with yellowing on the first and last pages. The paper paperback cover has numerous spots and creases along the edges; the back cover is loose.
Catalog ID: 13334-22-A-X
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
