Krystian Kozerawski Photoblog

Poland, Lodz, Piotrkowska No. 86. House of the father of the printing in Lodz - Johann Petersilge. Born in Dresden in a German family (with the Spanish roots, the name of the family came from the ancestor - Pedro Silge) in 1930. When the young Johann was 7 years old his family moved to Warsaw, where his father - a goldsmith - opened his workshop. Johann didn’t follow his father. He learnt the printing and moved to Lodz in 1859 where he opened a lithography workshop with Polish co-partner Józef Czeczkowski. In 1863 the very first newspaper in Lodz appeared, a bilingual “Łódzkie Ogłoszenia | Łodźer Anzeiger” (mind the German title was not Lodzer but Łodźer). The title was not very popular, due to the content - mostly announcements of the Russian administration of Lodz and small artificial Kingdom Of Poland (that was a government - integral part of Russia). In 1865 the newspaper changed its title to “Lodzer Zeitung | Wiadomości Łódzkie” but in next year the newspaper became only German “Lodzer Zeitung”. “Wiadomości Łódzkie” became a supplement and finally became an independent Polish newspaper “Dziennik Łódzki”. Johann Petersilge died in 1905 and was buried in The Old Cemetery at Ogrodowa Street. His grave was renovated recently. The eclectic style, rich ornamented building owes his name due to the central figure of Johann Gutenberg. Between the windows you can see profiles of the most important printers (Daguerre, Senefelder, etc), there is also a symbolic coat of arms with the hieroglyphs and cuneiform).