Starveling’s gong : a humorous portrayal of the intellectual atmosphere and customs of the Natural Medicine Centre of Dr Apolinary Tarnawski in Kosow

Starveling’s Gong is a unique copy of a satirical piece in the form of a typewritten journal edited by the patients of the Natural Medicine Centre of Dr Apolinary Tarnawski in Kosow in Pokkuttya. The Natural Medicine Centre was located on the territory of the former Stanisławow Voivodeship (currently Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, Ukraine). The centre , active in 1893-1939, was one of backbone of Polish cultural life in the Borderlands. As a popular holiday destination for the intelligentsia, it became an ideal platform for stimulating literary and artistic creativity. The preserved text was created by prominent writers, poets and artists, such as: Kazimierz Wierzyński, Wit Tarnawski, Stefan Norblin, Alina Kwiecińska, Wiktor Podoski, Wojciech Zaleski or prof. Ignacy Chrzanowski, who all stayed in Kosow for treatment in the summer of 1937. From the edited manuscript provides a vivid image of the Polish intellectual activity in the 1930s. In addition, the text brings us closer to fuller knowledge about what entertainment the elite provided themselves during the stay in health resorts. The retrieved manuscript undoubtedly inspires further research into the intellectual contribution and cultural achievements of the medical centre in Kosow for the development of the native culture.