Polish how-to books for servants in the second half of the 19th c. and early 20th c. : between a model and the realities

Abstract

In the second half of the 19th c. and early 20th c. guides and how-to books were an important part of the publishing market. Among how-to books there was a signifi cant proportion of publications addressed, actually or only formally, to servants. Their authors were well-educated and well-off representatives of the elites, belonging to the upper class of servants’ employers. Servants were unlikely to read such texts; young people who immigrated to cities to find employment were usually illiterate. Poland was not unlike Western Europe in this respect. How-to books usually conveyed postulates rather than described reality. Most of them combined elements of appeal with moralising. The most significant publications from that time were Dwór wiejski [The country manor] by Karolina Nakwaska, Rady dla służących [Advice for servants] by Rev. C.J. Busson, Praktyczne wskazówki dla dziewcząt służących [Practical tips for serv-ant girls] by Adela Dziewicka and Pamiątka dla dziewcząt służących osobliwie po miastach [A reminder for girls being in service, especially in cities] by Father Kazimierz Riedl SJ.