Social Life Documentation

The Social Life Documents section collects, catalogs and provides access to the collection of various types of materials. These include flyers, leaflets, invitations, classifieds, pamphlets, advertisements in many formats, posters, programs of different artistic and sporting events, bulletins, propaganda publications of political parties and social organizations (including émigré and underground), political events documentation (elections and referenda), and other. Currently, the collection contains some 55 thousand items from after 1801 (earlier materials are held in the Old Prints collection). The oldest documents are represented by orders and announcements of the occupant authorities, prints from the Springtime of Nations (1848 - revolutionary movement towards greater democracy in much of Europe), the January Uprising of 1863, materials regarding Pomeranian cities (Toruń, Grudziądz, Gdańsk), prints and pamphlets from World War I, Polish-Bolshevik War, political party posters dating back to the inter-War period of the Polish Republic, orders and announcements of German authorities from 1939-1945, conspiratorial prints, and many others.

The entire collection is divided into subject areas. Because of the increased volume of advertisements and propaganda documents, in the recent years, their acquisition has been limited to some geographic areas and subjects. Thus, the collection contains all possible Polish and foreign prints from 1801-1945, only Polish materials from 1945-1956, and "documents of the moment" from the Pomeranian region. The Social Life Documents section specializes mainly in collecting leaflet materials pertaining to historically and currently significant issues in the region of Toruń.

The six important subject areas are: Nicolaus Copernicus University (photographic documentation about the University), Toruniana, Vilniana, Copernicana, Polonica (Polish emigration), and Polish and foreign underground prints (including "Solidarity").

 

Social Life Documentation card catalog