![Kazimierz Kulwieć, Beetles [1926]](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/29/Kazimierz-Kulwiec-Beetles-1926_6ac031153035e-full-74790200_1790980374-6ac03116b6990.jpg "Kazimierz Kulwieć, Beetles [1926]")
Kazimierz Kulwieć, Beetles [1926]
Title: Beetles.
Author: Kazimierz Kulwieć (1871–1943) [naturalist, entomologist, educator, and regional historian; co-founder of the Polish Regional History Society].
Publisher: Warsaw, M. Arcta Publishing House.
Year of publication: 1926.
Format: 24 cm.
Volume: 11, [2] pp., 21 color plates.
Binding: Publisher’s cloth binding.
The “Beetles” atlas is one of the popular science publications on natural history that Michał Arct’s Warsaw publishing house supplied to schools, teachers, and amateur collectors during the interwar period. The Polish version was prepared by Kazimierz Kulwieć. A concise text introduces the anatomy and taxonomy of beetles (Coleoptera) and serves as a guide to the illustrative material. The volume’s primary value lies in its full-page color plates produced using the chromolithography technique, which depict numerous beetle species in their natural colors. Chromolithographic natural history atlases of this type, carefully printed in multiple colors, are valued today both as a source of knowledge and as decorative graphic works. Kulwieć had been studying beetles for years—as early as 1907, he published *Polish Beetles: A Key to Identifying Coleoptera for Youth, Amateurs, and Gardeners* (Warsaw, E. Wende & Co.).
Kazimierz Jakub Kulwieć was born on May 1, 1871, in Turbiszcze in the Suwałki region. He graduated from high school in Suwałki, studied natural sciences at the University of Warsaw, and took his master’s exams in Odessa. He studied the natural history of the Suwałki region and published his work in journals such as *Wszechświat* and *Pamiętnik Fizjograficzny*. Around 1901, together with Kazimierz Czerwiński, he established a makeshift biological station on Lake Wigry. In 1906, he co-founded the Polish Tourist Society (PTK) and subsequently its Suwałki branch. In 1929, a Polish Tourist Society (PTK) lodge in Stary Folwark on Lake Wigry was named after him. For health reasons, he moved to Toruń at that time. After the outbreak of World War II, the Kulwieć family was deported deep into the Soviet Union. Both of his sons died during the war, and Kulwieć himself died on February 14, 1943, in the Arkhangelsk taiga. Today, the PTTK Central Library in Warsaw bears his name.
Provenance: no stamps or ownership records.
This is a striking chromolithographic entomological atlas published by Arcta, compiled by one of the pioneers of Polish regional studies. A must-have for collectors of vintage natural history and entomological literature, as well as collectors of color lithographs and publications by M. Arct.
Each piece is clean, with a complete set of color lithographic plates. The block is loose; the paper and plates show visible natural spots and discoloration. The publisher’s cloth cover is in good condition, with a distinct stain from an old watermark. This piece is a good candidate for minor bookbinding restoration.
Catalog ID: 2221-24-A-X
Title: Beetles.
Author: Kazimierz Kulwieć (1871–1943) [naturalist, entomologist, educator, and regional historian; co-founder of the Polish Regional History Society].
Publisher: Warsaw, M. Arcta Publishing House.
Year of publication: 1926.
Format: 24 cm.
Volume: 11, [2] pp., 21 color plates.
Binding: Publisher’s cloth binding.
The “Beetles” atlas is one of the popular science publications on natural history that Michał Arct’s Warsaw publishing house supplied to schools, teachers, and amateur collectors during the interwar period. The Polish version was prepared by Kazimierz Kulwieć. A concise text introduces the anatomy and taxonomy of beetles (Coleoptera) and serves as a guide to the illustrative material. The volume’s primary value lies in its full-page color plates produced using the chromolithography technique, which depict numerous beetle species in their natural colors. Chromolithographic natural history atlases of this type, carefully printed in multiple colors, are valued today both as a source of knowledge and as decorative graphic works. Kulwieć had been studying beetles for years—as early as 1907, he published *Polish Beetles: A Key to Identifying Coleoptera for Youth, Amateurs, and Gardeners* (Warsaw, E. Wende & Co.).
Kazimierz Jakub Kulwieć was born on May 1, 1871, in Turbiszcze in the Suwałki region. He graduated from high school in Suwałki, studied natural sciences at the University of Warsaw, and took his master’s exams in Odessa. He studied the natural history of the Suwałki region and published his work in journals such as *Wszechświat* and *Pamiętnik Fizjograficzny*. Around 1901, together with Kazimierz Czerwiński, he established a makeshift biological station on Lake Wigry. In 1906, he co-founded the Polish Tourist Society (PTK) and subsequently its Suwałki branch. In 1929, a Polish Tourist Society (PTK) lodge in Stary Folwark on Lake Wigry was named after him. For health reasons, he moved to Toruń at that time. After the outbreak of World War II, the Kulwieć family was deported deep into the Soviet Union. Both of his sons died during the war, and Kulwieć himself died on February 14, 1943, in the Arkhangelsk taiga. Today, the PTTK Central Library in Warsaw bears his name.
Provenance: no stamps or ownership records.
This is a striking chromolithographic entomological atlas published by Arcta, compiled by one of the pioneers of Polish regional studies. A must-have for collectors of vintage natural history and entomological literature, as well as collectors of color lithographs and publications by M. Arct.
Each piece is clean, with a complete set of color lithographic plates. The block is loose; the paper and plates show visible natural spots and discoloration. The publisher’s cloth cover is in good condition, with a distinct stain from an old watermark. This piece is a good candidate for minor bookbinding restoration.
Catalog ID: 2221-24-A-X
