Pierwszemu Oddziatowi Robotniczego Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Dzieci w dalekiej Ameryce w mieście Chicago—ofiarowuje zdjęcia z działalności swej w Polsce. [To the First Division of the Workers’ Society of Friends of Children in Far America in the city of Chicago—an offering of photographs of their activities in Poland] [photograph album].

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C. 1920s Second Polish Republic photograph album prepared by the Workers’ Society of Friends of Children in Warsaw. It is presented to the Workers’ Society of Friends of Children branch in Chicago, who presumably lent their support to the society.

The Society was established in 1919 to provide childcare and education centers for workers’ children and the children of the unemployed. The outreach included kindergartens, schools, summer camps, meals, and medical care. This album is an early documentation of the Society’s involvement in the childcare, education, play, and summer camp activities for families of the workforce.

The album is signed on its title page by the Society’s founders in Poland, Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955) and Dr. Aleksander Landy (1881–1969). 

Arciszewski served as founding chairman of The Workers’ Society of Friends of Children [Robotnicze Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Dzieci (RTPD)] and along with Landy, was an active member of the Polish Socialist Party (PPS). Arciszewski served in the Socialist party and became the 31st Prime Minister of Poland. Notably, the album’s first photograph depicts a crowd of children in front of a “Children’s Home” in Warsaw; among the crowd is politician and co-founder of the PPS, Senator Bolesław Limanowski (1835–1935).

Photographs within the album—all taken outdoors—show children’s homes and tents, kindergarten-age children playing with blocks, playtime, camp scenes, communal meals, calisthenics, sports clubs, and a view of children on a beach along the Vistula River. Places seen include Warsaw, the Helena Dłuska Children’s Home in Helenów, Broszków, Brok, and Brześć nad Bugiem.

A visual documentary of the Society’s early years in the care of worker’s children and the children of the unemployed. It served as a fitting gift for the patrons in Chicago, thanking them for their support.

Price: $2,500.00