Conrad’s Noble Heritage (translated by Ewa Kowal)
Conrad’s Noble Heritage (translated by Ewa Kowal)

Summary/Abstract: One of the most moving mementos of Conrad-Korzeniowski’s childhood is a photograph showing him as a fi ve-year-old boy wearing a braided jacket, tied with a broad belt, sitting on a tall chair so that his little feet cannot reach the fl oor. This little boy is a political prisoner. The picture was probably taken in 1863, during his and his parents’ exile in Vologda, at the photographic studio of Stanisław Kraków. It is one of the earliest likenesses of the eminent English writer he was to become. But what is as interesting for us as this portrait is the text on its reverse. For there, a clumsy child’s hand wrote the following dedication: “To my dear Granny, who helped me take cakes to my poor Daddy in prison. Your little grandson – Pole, Catholic and nobleman – KONRAD”. The dedication’s addressee is Conrad’s grandmother, Teofi la Bobrowska.

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