JULIAN TUWIM: POLSKI SŁOWNIK PIJACKI I BACHICZNA ANTHOLOGJA [1935].

Description

This is the first edition (editio princeps) of one of Julian Tuwim’s most remarkable and brilliant works – a lexicon devoted to Polish feast customs. The book was published in 1935 by the Warsaw Publishing Society “Rój” with illustrations by Feliks Topolski (1907-1989), an outstanding painter, cartoonist and caricaturist, who later created, among others, for the London “Observer” and was the official chronicler of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II .

In his introduction, Tuwim wrote: “I think that a free nation of thirty million people, having, modestly counting, with five million lamented drunkards – should have some lexicon, some encyclopedia, in which would shine the splendors of the native speech in the glass reflected”. The work is divided into two parts. Part one – “Polish Drinking Dictionary” – is a systematized collection of words, expressions and phrases related to drinking alcohol, divided into sections: Drink , drink; Vodka in general; State and degree of intoxication; Drunkard; Drunkenness; Drinking ceremonies, occasions and customs; Measures and utensils and others . The second part – “Antologja bachiczna” – is a selection of literary texts from the Middle Ages to the 18th century, dedicated to drinking, revelry and liquor, by authors such as Mikołaj Rej, Jan Kochanowski, Wacław Potocki and Ignacy Krasicki .

Tuwim’s work is not only an amusing curiosity, but also an extremely valuable source of knowledge about the Polish language, its richness and evolution, as well as about the customs of the nobility and bourgeoisie over the centuries. It represents a unique combination of erudition and humor, which has permanently entered the canon of Polish literature and culture.

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