Włodzimierz Pfeiffer

Włodzimierz Pfeiffer

1890-11-25

Płock

1941-6-25

photographer of prewar Łódź

bookseller

Esperantist

The most important photographer of prewar Łódź, Pfeiffer left some 900 photographs documenting the life of the city between 1926 and 1939. The negatives of his works are presently stored in the collections of the State Archives in Łódź and the City Museum in Łódź. From the time he arrived to Łódź in 1904 until the outbreak of World War II Pfeiffer worked as a bookseller in the bookstore of Ludwik Fiszer (later owned by Szarlotta Seipelt). Photography, like collecting Łódź memorabilia, was Pfeiffer’s passion and hobby. He had a keen eye for capturing the life in this vibrant, changing city by documenting the activities of a broad cross section of its inhabitants; he was especially fond of photographing Łódź’ Old Town, with its humble dwellings and their busy inhabitants. His sympathies for the working class led him during the 1920s to become politically engaged with the Polish social-democratic movement. Though he spoke several languages, he was especially active in supporting the dissemination of the transnational Esperanto. All these activities ceased with the start of World War II, when after his refusal to sign the Volksliste, he was compelled to move from Łódź to the neighboring countryside.

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82odzimierz_Pfeiffer

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photographs_by_W%C5%82odzimierz_Pfeiffer?uselang=pl

Pfeiffer, Włodzimierz, and Ryszard Bonisławski. Sentymentalna podróż po Łodzi: Łódź na starych fotografiach Włodzimierza Pfeiffera [Sentimental journey around Lodz [Lodz on Włodzimierz Pfeiffer's old photographs]. Łódź: Wydawnictwo "Hamal", 2009; 2010; 2013.

Budziarek, Marek. Włodzimierz Pfeiffer 1890-1941: Księgarz Łódzki, Esperentysta, Artysta Fotografik. Toruń: Towarzystwo Esperanckie Flamo, 2006.

Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland

Polish Booksellers' Association

Szczawin near Łódź