Archiwum Szymona Konarskiego : korespondencja Szymona Konarskiego z Bernardem Pilewskim z lat 1950-1973.
The Szymon Konarski Archive III. The correspondence of Szymon Konarski and Bernard Pilewskin the years 1950-1973.

Summary/Abstract: The Szymon Konarski Archive III is a fonds housed in the Genealogy and Heraldry Cabinet of the Royal Castle in Warsaw – Museum, consisting of nine boxes of correspondence and another four containing press cuttings, reviews and random notes on genealogy and heraldry. Due to its substantial size, the fonds will be divided into sub-fonds to facilitate the work of scholars and make the archives as user- friendly as possible. In the first instance, work was undertaken on the correspondence between Szymon Konarski and Bernard Pilewski. This collection of letters is comprehensive and is the largest part of The Szymon Konarski Archive III. To complete the fonds, subsequent sub-fonds will be published periodically in the coming years, in the alphabetical order maintained by Szymon Konarski. The voluminous correspondence between Szymon Konarski and Bernard Pilewski was written between 1950 and 1973. The letters discuss in great detail the problems faced by the Polish intelligentsia living in exile in Paris and London. They reveal the difficult task representatives of the Polish intelligentsia had in keeping Polish traditions alive, and also contain invaluable information on the intellectual life of Polish émigrés, their endeavours to popularize Polish culture and traditions abroad and the relationships which prevailed within Polish émigré circles. A very important issue raised in the letters were three of Szymon Konarski’s publications Kanoniczki warszawskie, Armorial de la noblesse polonaise titrée and O heraldyce i “heraldycznym” snobizmie. The letters mention creating an index for Teodor Żychliński’s Złota księga szlachty polskiej, as well as another of Szymon Konarski’s initiatives—starting up a periodical entitled ‘Materiały do Biografii, Genealogii i Heraldyki Polskiej’ and appointing an editorial board responsible for the academic aspects of the publication. Konarski gathered together people such as Adam Heymowski, Krzysztof Górski, Mieczysław Paszkiewicz, Andrzej Grabia Jałbrzykowski, Bernard Pilewski, and Leon Hieronim Radziwiłł. The board invited both Polish scholars abroad and those in communist Poland to contribute articles. The turbulent history of the editorial board and periodical are described in detail in the circular letters sent by the board members to their colleagues, as well as in the personal correspondence between Pilewski and Konarski. Similarly to the correspondence in the Szymon Konarski Archive I and Szymon Konarski Archive II, these archival materials abound in information on the financial situation of Polish émigrés in France, England, Sweden, Argentina and Australia. We learn about the fate of Bernard Pilewski’s family in London, his efforts to get an education and work, as well as personal matters such as the school life of his daughter Elżbieta, his financial situation, problems at work and with his health. In the sub-fonds, the Author includs a book published in 1991, after Bernard Klec-Pilewski’s death, entitled Studia i przyczynki do historii, genealogii i heraldyki polskiej. This book, with an introduction by Mieczysław Paszkiewicz, contains all Pilewski’s published texts. The whole of the correspondence is divided into 11 sub-fonds and is arranged chronologically

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