Franciszek KOSTRZEWSKI (1826-1911), Love letter, 1893

woodcut, paper 29 x 21 cm in light passe-partout, , signed p.d. "F.Kostrzewski" and xylograph "K.Neuman".
from the portfolio "Album of Fr. Kostrzewski" published by S. Lewental, 1893.

Franciszek Kostrzewski - realist painter, creator of genre scenes, illustrator, satirical cartoonist, caricaturist. He was the son of the steward of one of the noble palaces in Warsaw.
After the November Uprising, the family moved to a country estate in Sandomierskie province while. In 1844,18-year-old Kostrzewski enrolled in the new School of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He studied under the direction of, among others, Jan Feliks Piwarski. During his studies he traveled around the country painting landscapes and genre scenes documenting the life of small towns of the time. In 1856, he spent several months in Paris. After returning to Poland in 1856, he began his illustration activities. His illustrations appeared in Warsaw magazines and he also illustrated books.
Franciszek Kostrzewski is the author of one of the oldest Polish cartoons. It was "Historya Jedynaczka w 32 obrazkach", the first episode of which appeared in the third issue of "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" dated 3.X.1859. Kostrzewski is considered a forerunner of Polish comics.
Karol Neuman (Neumann) (ca 1841 - 24.06.1875 Warsaw) Lvov, Krakow and Warsaw wood engraver (of Jewish origin?) active from 1867 to 1875, initially engraved in Lviv for "Tygodnik Lwowski" (1867-1868), then in Krakow, where he lived from 1869 to 1870, then in Warsaw engraving mainly for "Tygodnik Ilustrowany" (mainly from 1872 to 1874 and probably unsigned works already from 1869) and for "Kłosy" (1874-1875), moreover for "Strzecha" (1871); see SAP vol. 6 pp. 43-44 (omits 1874 in work for "Ears") and own materials.