![[Antoni FIBICH - THE JANUARY UPRISING] A unique panotype from the 1860s and a collection of 9 photographs by Antoni Fibich (1835–1907), a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, and collector, and his wife Anna, née Sroczyńska. Kraków, Vienna, and...](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/28/Antoni-FIBICH-THE-JANUARY-UPRISING-A-unique-panotype-from-the-1860s-and-a-collection-of-9-photographs-by-Anton_6adfea737d736-full-60995100_1793059444-6adfea7494eae.jpg "[Antoni FIBICH - THE JANUARY UPRISING] A unique panotype from the 1860s and a collection of 9 photographs by Antoni Fibich (1835–1907), a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, and collector, and his wife Anna, née Sroczyńska. Kraków, Vienna, and...")
[Antoni FIBICH - THE JANUARY UPRISING] A unique panotype from the 1860s and a collection of 9 photographs by Antoni Fibich (1835–1907), a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, and collector, and his wife Anna, née Sroczyńska. Kraków, Vienna, and...
[Antoni FIBICH – THE JANUARY UPRISING] A unique panotype from the 1860s and a collection of 9 photographs by Antoni Fibich (1835–1907), a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, and collector, and his wife Anna, née Sroczyńska. Kraków, Vienna, and other locations. 1860s–1905.
An exceptional collection of 10 photographic items, the most valuable of which is an extremely rare panotype depicting Antoni Fibich (1835–1907)—a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, notary, social activist, and bibliophile.
The collection includes the original oval panotype in a period frame, four later portraits of Fibich, and five photographs of his wife, Anna née Sroczyńska of the Nowina coat of arms Nowina (b. 1853), taken at renowned photographic studios in Kraków and Vienna.
The panotype—the most valuable item in the collection
The oval panotype, tentatively dated to the early 1860s, depicts a young Antoni Fibich sitting in a studio, with his hand resting on a piece of furniture. The photograph is preserved in an antique, blackened frame with a gilded inner border.
The panotype is one of the rarest techniques in early photography.Introduced in France in 1853, it was a variation of the wet collodion process. The photographic image was transferred from glass to a dark, flexible substrate—most often a specially prepared canvas, oilcloth, or leather—resulting in a single positive resembling an ambrotype but more resistant to breakage.
This technique was used for a relatively short time, mainly in the 1850s and 1860s. Due to the instability of the materials and the image layer’s susceptibility to cracking, shrinking, and delamination, the surviving pieces are now among the rarest artifacts of nineteenth-century photography.
The uniqueness of panotypes is also evidenced by their scarce representation in identified Polish institutional collections. In their scholarly study on this technique, Tomasz Kozielec and Marta Nalaskowska described two pieces from the collections of the Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, also noting examples held at the National Library.
The particular value of the presented piece lies in the identification of the subject—a participant in the January Uprising—and the preservation of the panotype alongside a collection of later photographs of the same person. Among them are portraits with handwritten signatures, including a photograph taken at J. Sebald’s studio in Kraków, bearing the name “Antoni Fibich” and the date “905” [1905]. These photographs make it possible to trace changes in the subject’s appearance over the course of several decades, lending the entire collection additional historical and iconographic value.
Antoni Fibich (1835–1907) – Biography
A participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, notary, social activist, journalist, and bibliophile. He studied law and philosophy at Jagiellonian University, then lived in Warsaw, where he became involved with the “White” political circle. After the outbreak of the January Uprising, he joined the fight. On May 6, 1863, he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Kobylanka, and after his recovery, he served as a prosecutor for the Revolutionary Tribunal. Arrested and imprisoned by the Russian authorities, he settled in Galicia after his release. He worked in the judiciary and later as a notary in Frysztak and Mielec. He was involved in social and educational activities, amassed a rich collection of books, and ran a free lending library of Polish literature at his office in Mielec.
Other photographs in the collection
Four photographs of Antoni Fibich:
1.Szymon Balicer, Kraków, [1860s–1870s]—an early portrait in carte de visite format. On the reverse is a vignette of the studio at 80–81 Grodzka Street and a handwritten identification of the subject.
2.L. & V. Angerer, Vienna, [1870s–1880s?]—a cabinet photograph featuring a striking vignette from the renowned studio of the imperial court photographers and a handwritten signature reading “Antoni Fibich.”
3.Antoni Fibich, [probably 1892]—a carte de visite portrait on dark cardstock. On the reverse is a handwritten identification and a note likely referring to Rabka and the year 1892.
4.J. Sebald, Kraków, 1905 – a late portrait of Fibich, taken at the studio at 3 Kolejowa Street, with a handwritten signature and the date “905” [1905]. On the reverse, a decorative Art Nouveau vignette.
Five photographs of Anna Fibich (née Sroczyńska):
Portraits taken between the 1870s and 1890s, including atthe Atelier Adèlein Vienna (card dated “1871”) and atA. Szubert’s studio in Kraków, which also had a branch in Szczawnica. On the reverse of one of the photographs is a handwritten signature reading “Anna Fibichowa, née Sroczyńska.”
The collection as a whole constitutes a rare and iconographically cohesive body of work, linking the history of early photography with the history of the January Uprising and the life of the Polish intelligentsia in the second half of the 19th century. Of particular interest to collectors of vintage photography, uprising memorabilia, and museums and libraries.
Condition:A panotype measuring 14.6 × 11.4 cm, in an original blackened frame. Visible cracks, localized losses, and damage to the image layer. The remaining photographs, in carte de visite and cabinet formats, are in varying conditions, with localized soiling, stains, foxing, scuffing, and damage to the card margins.
Comparative literature:T. Kozielec, M. Nalaskowska,“Panotypes—Unique Nineteenth-Century Photographs on Canvas.” A Discussion of Two Items from the Collections of the Kórnik Library and a Few Words on the History of the Technique, “Pamiętnik Biblioteki Kórnickiej,” vol. 38, 2021, pp. 117–132.
[Antoni FIBICH – THE JANUARY UPRISING] A unique panotype from the 1860s and a collection of 9 photographs by Antoni Fibich (1835–1907), a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, and collector, and his wife Anna, née Sroczyńska. Kraków, Vienna, and other locations. 1860s–1905.
An exceptional collection of 10 photographic items, the most valuable of which is an extremely rare panotype depicting Antoni Fibich (1835–1907)—a participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, notary, social activist, and bibliophile.
The collection includes the original oval panotype in a period frame, four later portraits of Fibich, and five photographs of his wife, Anna née Sroczyńska of the Nowina coat of arms Nowina (b. 1853), taken at renowned photographic studios in Kraków and Vienna.
The panotype—the most valuable item in the collection
The oval panotype, tentatively dated to the early 1860s, depicts a young Antoni Fibich sitting in a studio, with his hand resting on a piece of furniture. The photograph is preserved in an antique, blackened frame with a gilded inner border.
The panotype is one of the rarest techniques in early photography.Introduced in France in 1853, it was a variation of the wet collodion process. The photographic image was transferred from glass to a dark, flexible substrate—most often a specially prepared canvas, oilcloth, or leather—resulting in a single positive resembling an ambrotype but more resistant to breakage.
This technique was used for a relatively short time, mainly in the 1850s and 1860s. Due to the instability of the materials and the image layer’s susceptibility to cracking, shrinking, and delamination, the surviving pieces are now among the rarest artifacts of nineteenth-century photography.
The uniqueness of panotypes is also evidenced by their scarce representation in identified Polish institutional collections. In their scholarly study on this technique, Tomasz Kozielec and Marta Nalaskowska described two pieces from the collections of the Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, also noting examples held at the National Library.
The particular value of the presented piece lies in the identification of the subject—a participant in the January Uprising—and the preservation of the panotype alongside a collection of later photographs of the same person. Among them are portraits with handwritten signatures, including a photograph taken at J. Sebald’s studio in Kraków, bearing the name “Antoni Fibich” and the date “905” [1905]. These photographs make it possible to trace changes in the subject’s appearance over the course of several decades, lending the entire collection additional historical and iconographic value.
Antoni Fibich (1835–1907) – Biography
A participant in the January Uprising, lawyer, notary, social activist, journalist, and bibliophile. He studied law and philosophy at Jagiellonian University, then lived in Warsaw, where he became involved with the “White” political circle. After the outbreak of the January Uprising, he joined the fight. On May 6, 1863, he was seriously wounded in the Battle of Kobylanka, and after his recovery, he served as a prosecutor for the Revolutionary Tribunal. Arrested and imprisoned by the Russian authorities, he settled in Galicia after his release. He worked in the judiciary and later as a notary in Frysztak and Mielec. He was involved in social and educational activities, amassed a rich collection of books, and ran a free lending library of Polish literature at his office in Mielec.
Other photographs in the collection
Four photographs of Antoni Fibich:
1.Szymon Balicer, Kraków, [1860s–1870s]—an early portrait in carte de visite format. On the reverse is a vignette of the studio at 80–81 Grodzka Street and a handwritten identification of the subject.
2.L. & V. Angerer, Vienna, [1870s–1880s?]—a cabinet photograph featuring a striking vignette from the renowned studio of the imperial court photographers and a handwritten signature reading “Antoni Fibich.”
3.Antoni Fibich, [probably 1892]—a carte de visite portrait on dark cardstock. On the reverse is a handwritten identification and a note likely referring to Rabka and the year 1892.
4.J. Sebald, Kraków, 1905 – a late portrait of Fibich, taken at the studio at 3 Kolejowa Street, with a handwritten signature and the date “905” [1905]. On the reverse, a decorative Art Nouveau vignette.
Five photographs of Anna Fibich (née Sroczyńska):
Portraits taken between the 1870s and 1890s, including atthe Atelier Adèlein Vienna (card dated “1871”) and atA. Szubert’s studio in Kraków, which also had a branch in Szczawnica. On the reverse of one of the photographs is a handwritten signature reading “Anna Fibichowa, née Sroczyńska.”
The collection as a whole constitutes a rare and iconographically cohesive body of work, linking the history of early photography with the history of the January Uprising and the life of the Polish intelligentsia in the second half of the 19th century. Of particular interest to collectors of vintage photography, uprising memorabilia, and museums and libraries.
Condition:A panotype measuring 14.6 × 11.4 cm, in an original blackened frame. Visible cracks, localized losses, and damage to the image layer. The remaining photographs, in carte de visite and cabinet formats, are in varying conditions, with localized soiling, stains, foxing, scuffing, and damage to the card margins.
Comparative literature:T. Kozielec, M. Nalaskowska,“Panotypes—Unique Nineteenth-Century Photographs on Canvas.” A Discussion of Two Items from the Collections of the Kórnik Library and a Few Words on the History of the Technique, “Pamiętnik Biblioteki Kórnickiej,” vol. 38, 2021, pp. 117–132.
