Ojciec i Schulz. O rysunku z okładki Katalogu Bibljoteki Stanisława Weingartena
Father and Schulz: On a Drawing from the Cover of The Catalogue of Stanisław Weingarten’s Library

Summary/Abstract: The text traces imaginary patterns of correspondences between Bruno Schulz’s fictionsand the story of the antiquarian bookstore Słowo (“The Word”), as remembered by theson of its founder and owner, an admirer and collector of Schulz’s graphic works, Henryk Maszewski. From that perspective, Maszewski’s chance acquisition (in the1950s) of TheCatalogue of Stanisław Weingarten’s Library, illustrated by Bruno Schulz, gains an auraof an unquestionable “missionary” privilege. Relevant correspondence between HenrykMaszewski and Jerzy Ficowski is fragmentarily quoted. The last section of the text offersan introduction to possible interpretations of Schulz’s drawing from the front cover ofWeingarten’s Catalogue. Part of the mythology of the bookstore, which operated in Łódźin the years 1945 1989, the barrel bearing Schulz’s initials on which the figure ofa “dreamer-wanderer” stands astride, symbolizes a means of escape from the mentalenslavement and boredom of the communist times. It may still provide means of escapefrom the falsehood of xenophobic and nationalistic propaganda of our times. Occasionedby the guiding theme of the 2019 Conference in Gdańsk: Schulz-beyond Drohobych, thetext is the author’s venture beyond the personal memory to meet the expectations of theconference organizers and participants.

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