Szpargały. A magazine dedicated to book appreciation and collecting. Volume II [1935]

Title: Szpargały. A journal devoted to the love of books, book collecting, and all bibliographic curiosities. Volume II. 1935. Included with the K. Fiszler and Son Antiquarian Bookstore Bulletin, No. 8.

Compiled by: Editor Bolesław Olszewicz (1893–1972) [geographer, historian of cartography, and bibliophile]; publisher B. Fiszler.

Publisher: Warsaw, K. Fiszler and Son Antiquarian Bookshop, 10 Świętokrzyska St.

Year of publication: 1935.

Format: 25 cm.

Volume: 19, [1] pp. + Bulletin No. 8.

Binding: Original publisher’s paperback covers.

“Szpargały. A magazine devoted to the love and collecting of books and all bibliographic curiosities” was a monthly published in Warsaw from 1934 to 1939. It was published by B. Fiszler, and the magazine was associated with the K. Fiszler and Son at 10 Świętokrzyska Street. It served two purposes: it was a bibliophile magazine, featuring articles on the history of books, graphic arts, and bibliographic curiosities, and at the same time, it served as the antiquarian bookstore’s informational bulletin. The issues were accompanied by separately numbered “Bulletins of the K. Fiszler and Son Antiquarian Bookshop,” which were the company’s sales offers. Today, they are a valuable source for the history of the Warsaw antiquarian book market and the book trade during the interwar period. The set presented here consists of an issue of the journal from 1935 (Volume II) and Bulletin No. 8. According to the Wielkopolska Digital Library’s collection, Bulletin No. 8 accompanied Issue 3 (8) from March 1935. This issue featured an article on the centennial of Polish literature devoted to engraving, discussing, among others, the works of Skoczylas, Cieślewski, Siedlecki, and Sawicki. The nature of the journal changed over the years: from 1936 onward, “Szpargały” increasingly took on the form of a booksellers’ catalog, and from 1937 onward, the title “Bulletin of K. Fiszler and Son’s Antiquarian Bookshop” appeared in the masthead. In 1938–1939, individual issues already contained several hundred items for sale. Issues from 1935–1939 are held, among other places, by the Kórnik Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and digitized issues are available through the Wielkopolska Digital Library.

According to the National Library’s catalog, the editor of the journal was Bolesław Olszewicz (1893–1972), a geographer, historian of geography and cartography, and bibliophile, who became a professor at the University of Wrocław after the war. The publisher was B. Fiszler, who was associated with the family business “K. Fiszler and Son.” The company operated an antiquarian bookstore on Świętokrzyska Street, in an area that was home to many of Warsaw’s antiquarian bookstores during the interwar period.

The provenance of this particular piece remains unknown—both booklets are free of institutional stamps, ownership inscriptions, and the handwritten price notations and cross-outs typical of commercial prints.

A pre-war issue of a Warsaw bibliophile journal, accompanied by the antiquarian bookstore’s sales bulletin—a valuable resource for researchers of the history of the Polish bibliophile movement, the history of the book, and the Warsaw antiquarian book market of the interwar period.

The blocks of both booklets are compact and stable; the original stitching is intact, the pages are even, and the set is complete. The paper has good stiffness and a light color, with a patina typical of the 1930s: fine flecks of foxing, acid discoloration, and superficial soiling on the margins. The original paper covers of both booklets are in good condition, with surface soiling, slight dust on the edges, and discoloration on the spines, but no major losses.

Catalog ID: 1873-25-A-X