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The First "New Year" in Mały Przegląd from October 11, 1929 – The Mailbox in the Editorial Office and the Reading Room on Rymarska Street
Actually, this entire issue of Mały Przegląd is dedicated to Jewish holidays and religious matters. The only exception is an article by Madzia (Markuze) – "The Mailbox in the Editorial Office" – about ordering wooden mailboxes for the newspaper. These were mailboxes that could be used when the newspaper did not have reception hours for young readers. The second article deviating from the topic is "Current News". Madzia Markuze, the author of the article about the mailbox, was the first secretary of the editorial office of Mały Przegląd and one of the closest youth collaborators of the Old Doctor. She was the one who took care of keeping the incoming correspondence in order.
The reading room for children and youth at Rymarska Street in Warsaw mentioned in the text (part of a network of libraries connected with the Culture Society and circles of the Jewish intelligentsia) acted as a local contact point (a so-called branch of the editorial office). Placing a mailbox there by Madzia Markuze aimed to bring the editorial office closer to children who did not have money for a postage stamp or were afraid to come directly to the main editorial office at 7 Nowolipki Street. The reading room on Rymarska Street was a natural environment for Korczak's young readers, serving as a bridge between education, literature, and children's journalism. From the early years of his activity (essentially from the turn of the century), Korczak wrote for magazines such as Czytelnia dla Wszystkich ("Reading Room for Everyone") and promoted the opening of free reading rooms for the poorest children.
Korczak treated the mailbox in a deeply pedagogical way. He believed that it taught children patience, reflection, and formulating their thoughts in writing, as well as allowing them to overcome shyness. These mailboxes hung in his Orphans' Home on Krochmalna Street, in Our Home (Nasz Dom) in Bielany, as well as in key points across Warsaw, so that children could drop in their reports free of charge and without constraint.
Madzia Markuze writes about her adventures when ordering mailboxes for "Letters to the Editor":
I went to a carpenter. He listened, measured, and agreed to make them in a week, paint the boxes—one brown, the other mahogany—and that there would be white inscriptions: "Mailbox for letters – Mały Przegląd", in oil paint.The lock was supposed to be good—and a gold plate.— How much will it cost?— 75 zlotys.I got scared and ran away.The second carpenter didn't want to accept the commission because it wasn't worth his time to deal with such trifles.It wasn't until the third one that I got lucky. We agreed on 35 zlotys. The boxes were supposed to be ready in a week. I gave a 10 zloty deposit and left satisfied...
...Finally, after six weeks, the boxes were ready, but not at all what I had imagined. Ugly color, red, weak locks; locks and keys like in a pencilcase.I ran around so much, talked so much, and felt so much shame. I took one box straight to the reading room for children and youth on Rymarska Street, and hung the other in the editorial office.A week later, the lock on the box broke. I had to buy a padlock. Only now is there order, because the padlock is strong, the box is big, and everything fits into it.From this story, we can see that even if you have money and want to do something small, you have to walk a lot and wait a long time.
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| In 1933, there was information that Mały Przegląd had, besides two in Warszawa, also four of its own postboxes in other cities. (Mały Przegląd, R.8, nr 41, 13 października 1933) |
