The project started when we stumbled over several original drawings in the collection of Hyżne primary school while preparing a small exhibition devoted to General Władysław Sikorski. Our interest piqued, we dug deeper. The result was that we found several dozen interesting and never before published drawings done by Antoni Wasilewski while he was serving in the Polish Armed Forces in the West. We decided the pictures were worth making available to a larger public, in book form.

The educational character of the publication also encouraged us to publish this album in electronic form, at www.antoniwasilewski.pl. This, we thought, would be a more interesting and accessible way of telling the story for young readers, and the unusual format would be attractive for those who already know and love the subject matter.

This, we thought, would be a more interesting and accessible way of telling the story for young readers, and the unusual format would be attractive for those who already know and love the subject matter.

In a world dominated by photography and film, these graphic artworks have something of the hand-written letter in them: they bear the author’s imprint, revealed in the free expression of the draftman’s line.

But instead of discussing the artistry (or lack) of the pieces gathered here, let us embark together on a journey through a world created by pencil, crayon and aquarelle...

First, though, there remains one very important matter. We would like to warmly thank all the institutions and individuals without whose generosity this book could not have been published, in particular the Polish Military Museum in Warsaw, the General Władysław Sikorski Primary School in Hyżne and the Palace of Art of the Society for the Friends of the Fine Arts in Cracow.

The Authors

Drawings: Antoni Wasilewski

The authors of the texts used in the album: Piotr Chmielowiec, Jakub Izdebski, Krzysztof A. Tochman

Selection of illustrations, graphic conceptual idea, DTP (printed and electronic versions): Marcin Krzanicki