Joachim Lelewel, A Course in General History. Vol. III–V [1850]

Title: Lectures on General History. Vol. III, IV, V (in 1 vol.).

Author: Joachim Lelewel (1786–1861) [historian, geographer, bibliographer, and numismatist; ideologue of Polish democracy; participant in the November Uprising].

Publisher: Warsaw, Published and printed by S. Orgelbrand, bookseller and printer, at 496 Miodowa Street.

Year of publication: 1850.

Format: 16 cm.

Volume: Vol. III: 186, [6] pp.; Vol. IV: 135, [4] pp., 2 fold-out plates; Vol. V: 251, [5] pp., 1 fold-out plate.

Binding: Period half-leather binding.

Joachim Lelewel’s *Lectures on General History* is one of the pioneering attempts in Polish historiography to provide a synthetic overview of human history based on critical work with primary sources. It grew out of the lectures Lelewel delivered at the universities in Vilnius and Warsaw, captivating an entire generation of students. This volume combines Volumes III, IV, and V in a single binding. Their value is enhanced by three large-format, fold-out chronological tables, designed as a tool for comparing the sequence of events in the histories of various peoples. The edition was published by Samuel Orgelbrand (1810–1868), one of the most important Warsaw publishers of the 19th century and the creator of the later *Encyklopedia Powszechna* (*Universal Encyclopedia*), the first major Polish encyclopedia. The publication of Lelewel’s writings in Warsaw in 1850, during a period of strict censorship following the November Uprising, is particularly significant. The author was in exile at the time, and the Tsarist regime considered him one of the most dangerous leaders of the uprising.

Joachim Lelewel was born on March 22, 1786, in Warsaw. He studied at the University of Vilnius, where he lectured on history beginning in 1814, and taught in Warsaw from 1818 to 1821. His lectures in Vilnius, attended by Adam Mickiewicz, among others, aroused great enthusiasm among the youth. Mickiewicz dedicated the poem “To Joachim Lelewel” to him. In 1824, the Russian authorities removed him from his professorship. During the November Uprising, he was a member of the National Government, and he is credited with authoring the slogan “For our freedom and yours.” After the uprising’s defeat, he settled in Paris, from where he was expelled to Brussels in 1833. There, he supported democratic movements and, in 1847, co-founded a democratic association to which Karl Marx also belonged. He was an outstanding numismatist and scholar of medieval geography, and his school of thought shaped Polish historiography for a long time. He died on May 29, 1861, in Paris. Stanisław Wyspiański made him the protagonist of his play *Lelewel*.

Provenance: On the title page, there is an ink seal bearing the Leliwa coat of arms with the initials “A.K.”; the seal is sharply imprinted and fully legible, indicating that the volume belonged to a private family library. This piece is free of public library stamps.

These are the three volumes of Lelewel’s classic synthesis, complete with a set of fold-out chronological tables, bearing heraldic provenance, and bound in period bindings. An item for collectors of Lelewel’s writings, researchers of 19th-century historiography, enthusiasts of Orgelbrand publications, and collectors of heraldic provenance.

The block is compact, tight, and mechanically stable; the original stitching firmly holds the covers in place, with no loose text pages; the endpapers feature old, conservative edge repairs. The paper bears a natural patina of age—scattered foxing, acid-induced yellowing, and superficial soiling on the margins from past page-turning. All three fold-out chronological tables are complete and legible, with natural creases along the fold lines. Contemporary half-leather binding in fair condition: the leather on the spine is heavily worn, the endpapers are frayed, the corners are rounded, but the structure remains rigid.

Catalog ID: 3046-16-B-X