Chapter 5. From Halley’s Comet to the Scout Kwapiszon

Abstract

This chapter presents a historic review of the use of photomontage and photo-based collage in Polish books for children (fiction and poetry) in the 20th century. The earliest example dates from 1934, whereas the latest one is dated 1981. The chapter begins with an outline of the artistic background in the period 1918–1939, it gives a short typology of photo-based illustrations, and then analyses the only known examples of genuine photomontage created for children’s books before World War II, namely works by Aleksander Krzywobłocki and Jerzy Janisch in Kometa Halley’a (Halley’s Comet) by Alina Lan, and a sample of works by Franciszka and Stefan Themerson. The chapter continues through the period of the so-called Polish School of Illustration (1950s–1970s), paying special attention to Adam Kilian and Stanisław Zamecznik’s illustrations, and ends with a presentation of the extensive and varied use of photography in illustrations by Bohdan Butenko, one of Poland’s most prominent illustrators.