This exhibit presents anniversary tableaux depicting the employees and owners of the "Czechy" Glass and Crystal Factory in Trąbki. The exhibition is complemented by works from the glassworks—both historical and contemporary copies—creating a unique dialogue between image and object.
"Na pamiątkę…" – these words in Polish often appeared in photographs endowed with special, emotional value. Tableaux, photographic and pictorial compositions created for anniversaries, reunions, and anniversaries in the second half of the 19th century, became a popular form of recording places, people, and histories important to the community that commissioned them.
The starting point for the exhibition at the Museum of Photography in Krakow are two exceptional tableaux that joined the MuFo collection in April 2025 as a gift from the Krakow Glassworks (Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Ceramics and Building Materials). They were created to commemorate the 50th and 80th anniversaries of the "Czechy" Glass and Crystal Factory in Trąbki and document not only its owners and employees but also the factory's architecture and products. The first, created by Konrad Brandel in 1872, was a gift from the officials and workers for the brothers Wilhelm and Edward Hordliczek, while the second, prepared in 1902 in Jadwiga Golcz's studio, was a tribute to the Reverend Edward Hordliczek.
This is not just a story about photography, however. The exhibition is complemented by examples of glass: original objects from the "Czechy" glassworks, as well as contemporary copies made based on historical patterns at the Krakow Glassworks. This allows visitors to see how images and objects complement each other, creating a coherent narrative about the aesthetics, technology, and aspirations of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The exhibition at MuFo will therefore be of interest not only to photography enthusiasts but also to glass and industrial design enthusiasts. It is a proposition for all those who enjoy discovering stories told through images, as well as for those who value objects that carry the memory of their time.
In the background, there's also the story of a third, now-lost tableau from 1882, created to celebrate the factory's 60th anniversary. Known today only through reproductions, it still awaits rediscovery. Perhaps this exhibition will be the impetus for its discovery?
