„Nie zadowolą nas zapewne próby pierwsze”, czyli o Antykwie Jeżyńskiego

The subject of the article is the outline of the history of the first modern Polish typeface, Jeżyński’s Antiqua, created on the initiative of Jan Kuglin, director of Poznań-based Agricultural Printing House and Bookery. This typeface, designed by Stanisław Jeżyński in response to long-standing suggestions to create a Polish font, was first used in Emil Zegadłowicz’s Dziesięć ballad o powsinogach beskidz­kich (Ten Ballads about Beskid Vagabonds), which Kuglin published specifically for the 1929 Polish General Exhibition in Poznań. It quickly became apparent, however, that it would not live up to expectations, since it was only used a couple of times and soon replaced by a different typeface – Półtawski’s Antiqua. The key question asked in this article pertains to the reasons that caused such a situation.