Adolf Nowaczyński: New Athens. A Satire on Greater Kraków [1913]

Adolf Nowaczyński, “New Athens: A Satire on Greater Kraków,” Warsaw [1913]

(Published by the author; typeset primarily at the Gebethner and Wolff Bookstore; printed and bound by Jan Cotta; first edition)

“New Athens: A Satire on Greater Kraków” is a 1913 work by Adolf Nowaczyński, described as his last passionate lampoon of his hometown. The list of individuals mentioned includes, among others, “His Excellency the Minister from Vienna,” City Vice President Jakub Stradomski III, the presidents of “Resursa,” “Lira,” and “Strzelnica,” as well as Representative Warcholik, president of the Club of Concentrated Illiterates. The world premiere took place on February 20, 1913, at the Polish Theater in Warsaw, directed by Józef Sosnowski.

Adolf Nowaczyński was born on January 9, 1876, in Podgórze near Kraków, and died on July 3, 1944, in Warsaw. He studied at Jagiellonian University, participated in the life of Kraków’s bohemian circles, and collaborated with the Zielony Balonik cabaret. Among other works, he published a volume of satires titled *Małpie zwierciadło* (1902). He was one of the architects of Kraków’s negative image in literature: his attacks were aimed at the provincialism and narrow-mindedness of the Kraków bourgeoisie.

This copy underwent conservation treatment at the Antykwariat Polski workshop. The book block was mechanically cleaned, and the sections were re-sewn by hand, restoring the volume’s structural stability.

A leather-bound volume handcrafted from the finest materials by master artisans at the Antykwariat Polski bookbindery. Natural leather, with a marbled paper endpaper.

The mission of Antykwariat Polski is based on a simple belief: valuable Polish books deserve to survive. Not as exhibits behind glass, but as living objects—preserved, bound with the utmost artisanal care, and ready for centuries to come in a collector’s library.

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