Theatre posters from Toruń in the collections of Copernicus Library and the State Archive in Toruń

Abstract

Theatre posters constitute part of the theatre's activity. Originally they play a purely functional role informing about a cultural event, which will take place on a given day and at a given time, in a given venue. With time, however, they become witnesses of the past, showing the history of their creator, his or her profile of activity, and changes taking place in the structure of the creator's performance. Theatre posters date back to antiquity. They were created by Egyptians, Romans and Greeks. The oldest early modern poster appeared in London in 1429, and it is now kept in the London theatre museum. The history of Polish posters dates back to the 16th or the 17th centuries (researchers cannot agree on the exact century) and is linked with either the Jesuit College or the royal theatre. Torun's posters analyzed in the text come from the years 1922-1975 and are stored in the collection of Copernicus Library and the State Archive in Torun. They were created by the theatre in Torun. Today it is Wilam Horzyca Theatre, and its name, the scope of activity, the organizational structure, the profile and character of its activity have changed over the years many times. The posters were discussed chronologically and divided into groups. The authors paid special attention to the content, its structure and the manner it was presented, the format of the posters, their colours, ornaments and iconography. Each group was discussed in detail and illustrated. The theatre in Torun is not the only creator of theatre posters in the town. A similar analysis can be conducted in relation to the puppet theatre company Baj Pomorski, which is the issue to be discussed in another article.