Leaving the Old Classroom, we see a display case with books and school reports. These are old school textbooks, including History for the 5th grade of primary and secondary schools by Gizela Gebertowa (1882-1964), published by Książnice-Atlas, Lviv-Warsaw in 1937. There’s also a German textbook by Karol Zagajewski, published by the largest organization of secondary school teachers, the Society of Higher School Teachers. It cost 2 crowns and 40 hellers (the equivalent of several loaves of bread). German was given special attention in Galician secondary schools, as it occupied the largest place in the curriculum after Latin. There’s also Stanisław Sobiński’s Geography of Poland, a textbook for public secondary schools published by K.S. Jakubowski in Lviv in 1926. Additionally, there’s a Polish atlas by Eugeniusz Romer (1871-1954) and Józef Wąsowicz (1900-1964) from 1951. Geometry Handbooks from 1908 correspond with the Calculations located on the lowest shelf of the display case. The middle section is occupied by a key to plant identification, plant atlases, butterfly atlases, and school textbooks. “Beginning Science of Nature” by Bohdan Dyakowski (1864-1940), for elementary school students, published by Geberthner and Wolff in Warsaw. Józef Rostafiński’s (1850-1928) “Botany for Higher Classes” and “News on Natural History” for faculty schools, published by the Ossoliński National Institute. Sample school reports complement the illustrative content of the display case, encapsulating the aura of a former classroom. On the opposite wall are copies of photographs depicting the appearance of classrooms, students, and teachers from various types of schools from the first half of the 20th century.
