BYSTROŃ, Jan Stanisław - A History of Customs in Old Poland: The 16th–18th Centuries [1933–1934]

Warsaw [1933–1934]. Trzaska, Evert, and Michalski. 18.5 × 25.5 cm, pp. (10), 470, (10), 575 [set of 2 volumes], numerous black-and-white illustrations in the text and on separate plates, cloth binding with gilt lettering. Good condition (soiling and scuffs on the bindings, small tears in the canvas on the spines, small tears on the endpapers, some pages slightly soiled).

A two-volume study by Jan Stanisław Bystroń devoted to social customs in Poland from the 16th to the 18th century. The author, an eminent ethnographer and sociologist, presents the customs of various social classes —the nobility, the bourgeoisie, and the peasantry—discussing, among other things, the family, upbringing, clothing, housing, holidays, religion, social life, culture, education, and entertainment. The book portrays society of the past not through the lens of political events, but through everyday customs and practices, creating a vivid picture of life in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.