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Advertising, Piano Culture, and the Changing Middle Class in Urban Galicia, 1911–1921
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 February 2025
Abstract
In the years between the turn of the century and the outbreak of World War I, business directories listed four commercial piano storefronts in Kraków and an even more impressive nine in Lwów, though the actual number was even higher. Additionally, each of the cities boasted multiple local piano factories. The presence of these factories and storefronts indicates an established market for the buying and selling of pianos in the two major urban centers of Austrian Galicia in the years prior to the war. While piano advertising continued both during and after the war, this was not necessarily an indicator of a lack of change. The instability and increasing inflation of the period served as a catalyst, forcing some owners to sell their pianos, while other citizens may have had the opportunity to capitalize on the economic situation, buying these status symbols for their households. The persistence of private piano classified advertisements for those hoping to buy and sell pianos throughout the war years was a symptom of social and cultural change within the middle class in urban Galicia. This article situates the dynamics of the region’s persistent piano marketplace alongside contemporary socio-political and economic trends to highlight an important indicator of social mobility amidst the widespread impact of World War I.
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References
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51 These additional four advertisers were: St. Boroń, Floryanska street 38, see Głos Narodu, 1 January 1911, 5 and Nowa Reforma (New Reform), 4 November 1911, 5; M. Telesznicka furniture store, ulica Św. Jana 2, see Nowa Reforma, 6 May 1911, 6, and Czas (Time), 7 June 1914, 2; Wiktor Barabasz, Rynek 39, see Nowa Reforma, 7 October 1911, 10; Helena Smolarska appeared extensively in numerous titles such as Głos Narodu, see 3 March 1918, 4, Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny, see 7 November 1915, 8, and Naprzód (Forward) see 30 August 1916.
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84 Cost per individual edition (non-subscription) from August 1914 and November 1918 daily editions of Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny and Wiek Nowy.