Kajetan Suffczyński, *Always Them: Historical and Social Scenes from the Time of Kościuszko and the Legions* [1917]

Title: Always Them: Historical and Social Scenes from the Time of Kościuszko and the Legions.

Author: Kajetan Suffczyński (1807–1873), pen name Bodzantowicz [storyteller and novelist, author of tales about the history of the Polish military, participant in the November Uprising].

Publisher: Poznań, Karol Rzepecki’s Wielkopolska Publishing House.

Year of publication: 1917.

Format: 28 cm.

Volume: 414 pp., [2] c., [2] c. of plates.

Binding: Period half-leather binding.

“Zawsze oni” is a collection of historical and social vignettes based on the history of the Polish army during the Kościuszko Uprising, the Polish Legions in Italy, and the Napoleonic Wars. It is Kajetan Suffczyński’s best-known work, published posthumously. The volume combines narrative prose with iconographic and poetic elements. The entire work is illustrated with drawings by Juliusz Kossak (1824–1899), a master of Polish battle painting and historical depictions of Polish military history. It also includes previously unpublished epigrams by Wincenty Pol (1807–1872), discovered in manuscripts. A portrait of the author alongside Wincenty Pol, based on a drawing by Kossak from 1871, was engraved by Antoni L. Szretter in Paris in 1875. In the same year, the first illustrated edition of the work was published in Poznań. This Poznań edition from 1917 coincided with the centennial of Tadeusz Kościuszko’s death (1817). It was published by Karol Rzepecki (1865–1931), a Poznań bookseller and publisher, editor of the magazine *Sokół*, and an activist in the Sokół movement and the nationalist camp.

Kajetan Suffczyński of the Szeliga coat of arms, writing under the pseudonym Bodzantowicz, was born in 1807 in Łańcuchów. In his youth, he took part in the November Uprising. He made his literary debut unexpectedly late: in 1851, he anonymously published the poem “Moje sny” (“My Dreams”) in Leipzig, published by Leopold Michelsen, a paraphrase of Zygmunt Krasiński’s “Przedświt” (“Dawn”). Later, he turned to traditional prose—namely, noble tales, short stories, and historical novels. Their subject matter remained almost exclusively the Polish struggle for independence: the Bar Confederation, the Kościuszko Uprising, the Napoleonic campaigns, and the November Uprising. He died in Łuczyce in early 1873.

Provenance: on the half-title page, a handwritten dedication: “To my friend Jerzyk, on his Name Day. Witold Gąsowski. April 24, 1946.” - A postwar inscription documenting the piece’s private circulation. No institutional stamps.

This is a magnificent edition of a classic Polish soldier’s tale, illustrated by Juliusz Kossak, in a period half-leather binding in very good condition. A must-have for collectors of military memorabilia and Napoleonic items, enthusiasts of Kossak’s illustrations, and researchers of the Poznań publishing scene during World War I.

The block is compact and stable, the original stitching is intact, and the pages lie flat. The paper is clean and bright, free of foxing, water stains, and underlining; the plates and portraits are preserved without damage; the volume is complete. Original period half-leather binding in nice condition—the spine leather is sturdy, with no cracks at the joints, and the gilt lettering is distinct; the cardboard endpapers are clean, with minor superficial paper loss and slight wear on the corners. Very good condition.

Catalog ID: 6477-28-B-Z