2021–2024, published by the Revived Knights’ Bibliophile Order in Kraków, Kraków 2025, p. 62, dimensions 21 x 29.5, paperback with flaps, in very good condition, on the title page, an autograph by the author, Dr. Jerzy Duda, Eng., Grand Master of the Revived Knightly Order of Bibliophiles in Kraków; inside, an insert with a reproduction of an illustration by Alina Kalczyńska.
The Knightly Order of Bibliophiles, together with the Chapter of the Order of the White Raven in Kraków, began its activities on February 13, 1930. Its founder was Kazimierz Wojciech Witkiewicz (1880–1973), president of the Society of Friends of the Book and later director of the Museum of Artistic Industry in Kraków. The Museum’s reading room, along with the library and Witkiewicz’s study, became the headquarters of the Knights of the Book. He established a hierarchy of ranks, titles, and ceremonial protocols, and also designed all variants of the Order of the White Raven. During the interwar period, the Order was actively involved in promoting bibliophilia both in Poland and abroad. With the outbreak of World War II, the bibliophiles associated with the Order were forced to cease their previous forms of intensive activity. This was a time of underground operations. Unfortunately, the postwar years were also unkind to the Order. The new authorities viewed the organization’s elitist nature with distaste. For this reason, in 1963, Kazimierz Witkiewicz decided to suspend the activities of the Chapter of the White Eagle.
On June 27, 1992, the Chapter of the Order of the White Raven was revived by Tadeusz Eugeniusz Witkiewicz, Kazimierz’s son, and his wife, Urszula Waleria (née Dylska). The official reopening took place on March 4, 1993, during the Ceremony of Awarding Charters to Members of the Chapter of the Order of the White Raven in Kraków. The Order’s headquarters—the White Raven’s Nest—remained at the apartment at 9 Smoleńsk Street.
Tadeusz Witkiewicz became Grand Master, and following his death on September 23, 2001, the Chancellor of the Order, Dr. Jerzy Duda, was appointed on November 15, 2001, to continue the work of Kazimierz Witkiewicz. Today, the members of the Revived Chapter strive, through their own initiatives, to promote a love of books and to make the Order’s name known in Kraków and beyond. This takes place on two fronts: on the one hand, since 1992, ceremonies have been held during which certificates are awarded, deceased bibliophiles are commemorated, and prominent figures from the worlds of culture and science deliver lectures; on the other hand, the association strives to reach out to the public and lift the veil of mystery that surrounds its activities
