1936 On the Continent

pottery, woodcarving, etc., have styles of their own, and these beautiful, entirely hand-made articles can be purchased at very moderate prices. In the Eastern Carpathians, in anotherpart of Poland, the peasants make very fine inlaid designs of wood, mother-of-pearl, brass, beads, etc. They also produce an original kind of pottery and a variety of small objects which are a genuine outcome of their artistic tradition, and not factory made imitations. Some of the latter have also appeared in the shops, but anyone with an eye for beautiful things would be able to distinguish them instantly from the real thing. Those who do not trust their own judgment in such matters can ask the advice of one of the societies for the promotion of artistic crafts.
Buy Peasant Costumes
    It is also possible to buy a complete peasant costume—this suggestion would interest particularly the ladies—which would create a sensation if worn at a fancy-dress ball or on some other suitable occasion in England. The best for this purpose is probably the costume of a Cracow girl, colourful and light; the Lowicz dress with broad stripes of orange, green, and practically all the other colours, comes an easy second, while there are many other varieties which are still worn on festive occasions in their respective provinces.
    For bold men, the purchase of a Zakopane mountaineer’s costume might be a good investment—it has tight trousers of white home-spun with rich embroidery on the upper part of the leg, an embroidered shirt, a sleeveless coat and a broad cape to cover it all. A decorative belt, a peculiar hat and a sort of a tomahawk stick complete this striking dress.
    Another interesting by-product of the peasant’s aesthetic sense is to be found in the Easter eggs, which are painted in incredibly elaborate designs and patterns, considering the difficulty of painting an egg-shell so as to obtain a complete picture. These designs are individual to each district, so that an expert could, on seeing a painted egg-shell many years old, tell you what village it came from.
    Christmas tree decorations are also an important branch of these artistic activities of the farmers, or rather their sons and daughters. The Poles never spare labour when it is a matter of embellishing some object of everyday use, and even the beams of the highland cottages are carved according to traditional patterns. Some wayside shrinespresent striking examples of this primitive art, which is now being preserved by State Schools of Peasant Crafts. Otherwise it is to be feared that the modernisation of life would soon have done away with most of the picturesque customs of old Poland, as it has already caused the disuse of the national dress in many parts of the country.
Tapestries
    The tapestries produced in many parts of Poland, notably in the north and in the Carpathian region, are quite original in style. They are usually made of hemp and wool, both home grown, spun and dyed. The strength of rugs made by hand in the cottages is such that they wear through several generations—which makes them cheap by comparison with some slightly less expensive, but infinitely less durable carpets. They are often used for hanging on the walls, where their distinctive patterns show off best. They are called the
kilimy
, and are the most remarkable, though not the only kind of home-woven fabric—as there are also many lighter kinds, some of which can be used for covering the walls of a whole room.
    Another class of souvenir which can be brought from Poland is at least as attractive, but not nearly as durable, as the tapestries—smoked sausages and hams of different flavours, very peculiar smoked cheeses—all will last for many weeks unaltered, but are likely to disappear before that time. An attractive gift from Poland might be a bottle of vodka or of some other of the many liqueurs and spirits made there—the customs always allow one bottle free of duty.
    Why not buy records of Polish songs? Some of them are very good and, at any rate, different from the music that one is accustomed to hear elsewhere. For lovers of antiques the Warsaw shops may hold in store many a surprise—through wars and other upheavals various valuables have changed hands in unaccountable ways and have often been lost to the community of collectors, to which you may restore them if you have luck.
    There are many other things to be experienced and seen in Poland, but after going there once you will probably go back