"Don Kichot" Miguela Cervantesa — estetyka i ukształtowanie graficzne polskich edycji

The first Polish edition of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha was published in 1781 in atranslation by Count Franciszek Podoski. By 2012, 64 editions in total were published in Poland (the last one that appeared as the survey was carried out is from 2009). In the article the author discusses the distribution of successive editions over time, the places of their publication, the institutions publishing them as well as the number of copies. Thanks to first-hand descriptions of avast majority of these editions (58), the author has been able to analyse them in terms of their typography and aesthetic values. She has analysed the types and decorations of the covers and bindings as well as the layout of the text and additional material. A detailed analysis has concerned the illustrations: their authors, techniques, place within the text. In addition, the author has examined the way in which the material form of the book was adapted to the content of the novel and its potential readers.