Skip to main content
  Manuscript Division  Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States

Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States

 Collection
Identifier: MSS36483

Scope and Content Note

The Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States consist chiefly of 111 volumes of approximately five million signatures of Polish citizens. Compiled under the auspices of the American-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland and the Polish-American Society, the collection was presented in October 1926 to President Calvin Coolidge in recognition of the 150th anniversary of American independence. The commemorative volumes also acknowledge American participation in World War I, contributions of the "American Aviators of the Kosciuszko Squadron in our war against the Bolshevik hosts in 1920," and aid given to Poland during the war. In November 1926 President Coolidge ordered the transfer of the collection from the White House to the Library of Congress. The collected signatures are bound in 109 volumes and in one portfolio of unbound sheets. Also included is a bound guide to the collection. Throughout the volumes are many pages of photographs or colorful illustrations.

The first five volumes contain the signatures of Ignacy Moscicki, president of Poland, and representatives of various government, religious, social, business, academic, and military institutions. The volumes are embellished with illustrations of buildings, coats of arms, historical monuments, rural and urban scenes, and famous historical figures. Volume six includes autographs of Poles residing in Austria. Volumes seven through thirteen contain signatures of faculty and students of secondary schools, and volumes 14 through 109 include those of grammar and elementary school students and faculty arranged primarily by administrative district. An index to the elementary school districts appears in a separate descriptive guide to the collection compiled by Zbigniew Kantorosinski. Volume 110 is a portfolio of unbound sheets which were received by the compilers after binding had been completed, and volume 111 includes a brief guide to the collection and acknowledgements. The volumes are arranged in the order in which they were originally bound and presented.

The volumes include artwork by prominent Polish artists, official seals, coats of arms, calligraphy, photographs, and decorative bindings. Volume two contains works by such painters and graphic artists as Stanisław Czajkowski, Władyslaw Jarocki, Zygmunt Kamiński, Ferdynand Ruszczyc, Władyslaw Skoczylas, Ludomir Slendziński, Zofia Stryjeńska, Jan Wroniecki, and Leon Wyczółkowski.

Dates

  • Creation: 1926

Language of Materials

Collection material primarily in Polish with English

Access and Restrictions

The volumes of the Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Copyright Status

It is the researcher's responsibility to determine requirements of domestic copyright laws and international treaties and conventions.

Extent

200 items
105 Volumes
6 oversize volumes
13.8 linear feet

Abstract

Volumes compiled under the auspices of the American-Polish Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Poland and the Polish-American Society and presented to President Calvin Coolidge in recognition of the 150th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and in acknowledgment of American participation and aid to Poland during World War I, containing over five million signatures of Polish citizens and embellished with illustrations rendered by prominent postwar Polish artists of buildings, coats of arms, monuments, rural and urban scenes, and historical figures.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged by volume number.

Additional Guides

A description of the Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States appears in Library of Congress Information Bulletin , vol. 55, no. 16 (30 Sept. 1996), pp. 347-348.

A descriptive guide to the collection by Zbigniew Kantorosinski is available in the Manuscript Division Reading Room.

Provenance

The Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States were transferred from the White House to the Library of Congress in 1926.

Online Content

The Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States are available on the Library of Congress Web site at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/collmss.ms000002.

Processing History

The volumes of Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States were arranged and described in 1996. The finding aid was revised in 2009.

Title
Polish Declarations of Admiration and Friendship for the United States
Subtitle
A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress
Author
Prepared by Michael Spangler with the assistance of Zbigniew Kantorosinski
Date
2009
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Part of the Manuscript Division Repository

Contact:
Manuscript Reading Room
101 Independence Ave, SE
James Madison Building, LM 101
Washington, DC 20540-4683
(202) 707-5387