DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.23631#0079
1839 tney set up a watchmaker's business in partnership. Geneva was an important centre of the watch-
making trade, competition was stiff, and to win customers their watches had to be of a high quality
— which they were. At first they made watches with Polish emigrants in mind and adorned them with
patriotic motifs and inscriptions. The partnership broke up in 1845 when each opened a business
on his own. Watches made by each of the former partners continued to represent the highest standard of
quality. Both Patek and Czapek were quick to introduce the latest inventions in the watchmaking trade:
the winding button at the side of the watch in place of the former system of winding with a special key,
or ruby rollers in the mechanism. Both made watches in gold cases engraved with images of Polish heroes,
above all Kosciuszko and Prince Joseph Poniatowski, of Our Lady of Cz^stochowa, Patron of Poland,
and Our Lady of Ostra Brama, Patron of Lithuania, as well as armorial bearings and inscriptions. Today
their watches are real museum pieces fetching high prices at the most renowned auctions.
Men s jewelry usually carried some patriotic significance; for example, in the period of the Great
Seym and 3rd of May Constitution rings were emblazoned with the eloquent inscription 'Fidis Manibus'.
During the Kosciuszko Insurrection of 1794, in token of outstanding valour, soldiers received rings
bearing the inscription 'The Country to Her Defender'. Rings with patriotic emblems were also worn in
the Napoleonic period, and after the Congress of Vienna, rings with patriotic mottoes signified membership
of a secret patriotic society; for example members of the Philaret Society, formed by students of Vilna
University, had rings with the inscription 'Amity to Merit'. Izabela Czartoryska, founder of a collection
of national heirlooms in the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy, designed a little gold emblem in the shape of the
terrestrial globe, worn on a pin, with only one spot marked on it — Pulawy. During the 19th century
national insurrections, gold and silver objects were turned over in support of the national cause and token
iron rings were made of swords broken in battle, manacle chains or horseshoes. Also popular were rings
with the arms of Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia, or just Poland and Lithuania.
Needless to say, craftsmen spared no effort to embellish the dress and attire of fashionable ladies.
In the 19th century, western fashions were adopted with the national dress reserved for patriotic occasions
— especially national risings. Western fashions spread mainly through increased contacts with other
countries and the appearance of fashion magazines. The first such journals started in the 1820s were
the Motyl in Warsaw and the fortnightly Dijennik. Mod Paryskjch m Lvov, followed by the Blus%c\
of Warsaw which appeared later and remained in circulation for many years. All these journals printed
coloured lithographs of the latest Parisian styles. Almosi everything a fashionable lady might need was
imported from abroad. Tulles, muslins, cambrics, batistes, taffetas, and patterned silks came from France.
Beautiful soft cashmere shawls were brought from India via Western Europe where as early as the
beginning of the 19th century such shawls were fairly successfully imitated. The French Directoire and
later the Empire fashions reached Poland almost as soon as they appeared in Paris. Styles and materials
were French but the dresses were mostly made by local ladies' tailors and couturieres. The finest lace,
especially blondes, was imported from Saxony, Belgium and France but embroidery was mostly of local
origin: collars, cuffs and handkerchiefs with minutely stitched designs in white or coloured thread, often
openwork.
Madame Nidecka's embroidery salon in Cracow was famous in the 1840s. Embroidering was also
a favourable occupation of ladies; in fact, tea-parties at which ladies would sit talking while busily stitching
at their needlework became very fashionable, particularly during the long winter evenings. In the mid-19th
century bead-work became popular. Ornaments of beads were stitched on purses, note-books, and even
men's pocket-books and braces. In the 1830s, high Spanish combs made of tortoise-shell became quite
fashionable, though only for a short time. Later, crinolines and penniers, worn with countless ornaments
and accessories, reached Poland. The beribboned bonnets of the 1830s gave way to the wondrous
creations of the 1880s and 1890s adorned with bouquets of artificial flowers and gorgeous feathers.
Those sumptuous creations of Paris modistes were very effectively copied by their Polish counterparts. The
fan was an important item of a fashionable lady's dress. Fans were mostly brought from abroad and
occasionally made in Poland from imported parts. The ribbing was of mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, ivory,
sometimes splints of wood gilded or painted and covered with the finest parchment, silk or paper.
Sometimes they were made of lace, or ostrich feathers. The size and proportions of fans changed in
accordance with the styles of fashion. Small at the beginning of the 19th century, bigger in the 1830s,
they attained truly imposing proportions in the 1840s and often imitated 18th century styles. Fans
were adorned with painted idyllic, usually Italian scenes or scenes in the commedia dell'arte style. Parasols
making trade, competition was stiff, and to win customers their watches had to be of a high quality
— which they were. At first they made watches with Polish emigrants in mind and adorned them with
patriotic motifs and inscriptions. The partnership broke up in 1845 when each opened a business
on his own. Watches made by each of the former partners continued to represent the highest standard of
quality. Both Patek and Czapek were quick to introduce the latest inventions in the watchmaking trade:
the winding button at the side of the watch in place of the former system of winding with a special key,
or ruby rollers in the mechanism. Both made watches in gold cases engraved with images of Polish heroes,
above all Kosciuszko and Prince Joseph Poniatowski, of Our Lady of Cz^stochowa, Patron of Poland,
and Our Lady of Ostra Brama, Patron of Lithuania, as well as armorial bearings and inscriptions. Today
their watches are real museum pieces fetching high prices at the most renowned auctions.
Men s jewelry usually carried some patriotic significance; for example, in the period of the Great
Seym and 3rd of May Constitution rings were emblazoned with the eloquent inscription 'Fidis Manibus'.
During the Kosciuszko Insurrection of 1794, in token of outstanding valour, soldiers received rings
bearing the inscription 'The Country to Her Defender'. Rings with patriotic emblems were also worn in
the Napoleonic period, and after the Congress of Vienna, rings with patriotic mottoes signified membership
of a secret patriotic society; for example members of the Philaret Society, formed by students of Vilna
University, had rings with the inscription 'Amity to Merit'. Izabela Czartoryska, founder of a collection
of national heirlooms in the Temple of Sibyl in Pulawy, designed a little gold emblem in the shape of the
terrestrial globe, worn on a pin, with only one spot marked on it — Pulawy. During the 19th century
national insurrections, gold and silver objects were turned over in support of the national cause and token
iron rings were made of swords broken in battle, manacle chains or horseshoes. Also popular were rings
with the arms of Poland, Lithuania and Ruthenia, or just Poland and Lithuania.
Needless to say, craftsmen spared no effort to embellish the dress and attire of fashionable ladies.
In the 19th century, western fashions were adopted with the national dress reserved for patriotic occasions
— especially national risings. Western fashions spread mainly through increased contacts with other
countries and the appearance of fashion magazines. The first such journals started in the 1820s were
the Motyl in Warsaw and the fortnightly Dijennik. Mod Paryskjch m Lvov, followed by the Blus%c\
of Warsaw which appeared later and remained in circulation for many years. All these journals printed
coloured lithographs of the latest Parisian styles. Almosi everything a fashionable lady might need was
imported from abroad. Tulles, muslins, cambrics, batistes, taffetas, and patterned silks came from France.
Beautiful soft cashmere shawls were brought from India via Western Europe where as early as the
beginning of the 19th century such shawls were fairly successfully imitated. The French Directoire and
later the Empire fashions reached Poland almost as soon as they appeared in Paris. Styles and materials
were French but the dresses were mostly made by local ladies' tailors and couturieres. The finest lace,
especially blondes, was imported from Saxony, Belgium and France but embroidery was mostly of local
origin: collars, cuffs and handkerchiefs with minutely stitched designs in white or coloured thread, often
openwork.
Madame Nidecka's embroidery salon in Cracow was famous in the 1840s. Embroidering was also
a favourable occupation of ladies; in fact, tea-parties at which ladies would sit talking while busily stitching
at their needlework became very fashionable, particularly during the long winter evenings. In the mid-19th
century bead-work became popular. Ornaments of beads were stitched on purses, note-books, and even
men's pocket-books and braces. In the 1830s, high Spanish combs made of tortoise-shell became quite
fashionable, though only for a short time. Later, crinolines and penniers, worn with countless ornaments
and accessories, reached Poland. The beribboned bonnets of the 1830s gave way to the wondrous
creations of the 1880s and 1890s adorned with bouquets of artificial flowers and gorgeous feathers.
Those sumptuous creations of Paris modistes were very effectively copied by their Polish counterparts. The
fan was an important item of a fashionable lady's dress. Fans were mostly brought from abroad and
occasionally made in Poland from imported parts. The ribbing was of mother-of-pearl, tortoise-shell, ivory,
sometimes splints of wood gilded or painted and covered with the finest parchment, silk or paper.
Sometimes they were made of lace, or ostrich feathers. The size and proportions of fans changed in
accordance with the styles of fashion. Small at the beginning of the 19th century, bigger in the 1830s,
they attained truly imposing proportions in the 1840s and often imitated 18th century styles. Fans
were adorned with painted idyllic, usually Italian scenes or scenes in the commedia dell'arte style. Parasols