Polish how-to books on the maintenance of churches (from the 2nd half of the 19th c. to 1918)

Abstract

Among the how-to books specifi ed in the title the most prominent were Wskazówka do utrzymania kościołów, cerkwi i przechowywania tamże zabytków przeszłości [Guidance as to the maintenance of churches and monuments of the past] by Władysław Łuszczkiewicz (Kraków 1869), Poradnik dla zajmujących się utrzymaniem i restauracją kościołów i kościelnych sprzętów [Advice for those who maintain and restore churches and church paraphernalia] (Warszawa 1887) and Budowa świątyni. Wskazówki praktyczne przy wznoszeniu i odbudowie kościołów oraz zdobieniu ich wnętrza [Church-building. Practical advise as to erecting and restoring churches and decorating their interiors] by Rev. Leon Gościcki (Warszawa–Lwów 1917, 2nd edition Płock 1947). Those publications are invaluable as a source of knowledge on the conservation and restoration practice of the time as well as on the idea of the decent upkeep of temples, including both buildings and furnishings. The authors stress the need of preventive conservation, i.e. all the possible means to avoid any damage of historical substance. They advise the readers how to keep the church tidy, how to clean pictures and sculptures, how to heat and ventilate the interior, etc. They advise employing professional and reliable conservators. Sometimes, in good faith, they recommend conservation methods which are considered damag-ing today but were used then (e.g. removing lime coating with hot water and acid, cleaning oil paintings with water, or impregnating wooden elements with a mixture of hot linseed oil and rosin). They approach the building holistically; they are interested not only in its interior and furnishings but also in its surroundings, e.g. they stress that care should be taken of the church cemetery.