The text describes Stanisław Kruk's collection of weapons, described as one of Lviv's most interesting private collections. The objects include mainly weapons from the Zamarstynow area. It is also mentioned that Kruk's collection can be seen in the suburban manor house in Zamarstynov. The next part of the text lists the individual most interesting exhibits, including a two-handed sword and a sword dating from the time of Casimir the Great (Source: "Ziemia. Tygodnik Krajoznawczy Ilustrowany', Warsaw 1913, no. 29, pp.10-12, no. 30, pp.4-6, after: the Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa).

A modernised reading of the text.

Stanislaw Kruk's Collection of Arms in Lviv.

A misleading ignoramus, masquerading as a blagger, and posing as an expert, only to forge some moral, and usually material, profit from this capital. Such a collector, usually a clever person of the first class, collects everything and knows everything, because it would be impossible for a merchant not to have everything in his trade. And then someone comes along who asks for this and that! It is good to have everything, because then "trade" goes better. For the naive, one is an expert, and for the wittier, a desirable source. And one benefits from both! A similar collector, with a Semitic bent, collects all possible and impossible "specimens", from shoe-lubricant labels to works of art! In front of the uninitiated, he makes the face of anticipation, anticipating collecting and outlining new directions for it ("who knows what people won't collect one day?"), and to the more critically-minded, he tries to show that he is a collector in the making. Of course, this goes hand in hand with a predilection for publicity, gained at any cost. One serves the influential, undertakes large-scale reorganisations (of course, only in one's mouth) on the basis of a mandate kindly offered to oneself, forms blocs and, in a word, becomes an "activist". In a series of our descriptions, we would like to introduce our readers this time to one of the most interesting private collections in Lwow, which can be properly categorised into one of the above-mentioned types. It is owned by Mr Stanislav Kruk, a carpenter's craftsman known throughout almost all of Galicia for his antique masterpieces. Several reasons contributed to his becoming, until forty years ago, a collector of antiquities, and above all of weapons. The closest neighbourhood of Mr Kruk's house, namely Zamarstynow, abounding with numerous traces and remnants of countless battles and campaigns fought on its territory, played a great role in this - his professional profession was also not without influence. In Mr St. Kruk's workshop, one can see new, mostly exquisite antique mahogany furniture, which he has been skilfully restoring for a long time. He is extremely passionate about antiques, masterfully restoring them to their former splendour - this has been his main preoccupation for years, and it is no wonder that his love of antiquity has awakened. An innate inclination and favourable circumstances made him a collector of weapons, generally regarded in Lviv as the most rich in things of real value and interest. Mr Kruk's friendships were forged by the fact that he started collecting his numerous specimens at a time when he still had too many competitors to fight, obviously for the lack of those interested in antiquities. As a result, today he is the owner of a veritable arsenal, which he cares for and looks after in his spare time from the heel and the ball. There is probably nothing else better than these two activities for the truly brave and amiable Mr Kruk, who, strangely enough, was able to refine his beautiful profession in his own hands, making it his pride and merit. He was able to show his innate intelligence in his professional work as well as in his whole life and in his passion for collecting. It is also no wonder that, modestly assessing his personal worth and mindful of the reasons for which he owes it above all, he always emphasises that he is a "master carpenter". Thanks to this, he is respected and honoured, not infrequently hosting even the highest-ranking personalities at his home, who are obviously happy to chat with him about ancient weapons and past times. However, Mr Crow still remains only a carpenter's apprentice. Mr S. Kruk's passion for collecting is innate, and he developed it thanks to favourable circumstances. Dedicated to his profession, and not at all pretentious about his collecting and scientific knowledge, he acquired a knowledge of things by practice alone over many years. Poorly acquainted with catalogues, auctions, antiquarian bookshops and the so-called "collectors' apparatus", he was no less likely to be "fooled", having a "refined nose" and plenty of practice. He must have paid for his practical knowledge with many failures, but it is evident that he possessed this knowledge quite early on, when nowadays in his collection the big exception is probably a fake or suspect art. Everything he owns is very interesting, valuable and often unique. And this assessment is not altered by the fact that the owner has a different opinion of many of the pieces, if one were to look. These specimens are nevertheless valuable, although perhaps mistakenly determined. Like any good collector, Mr Kruk has specimens that are especially dear and dear to him - he would not part with anything in the world, considering them the pearls of his modest collection, as he usually says. "For forty years I have collected piece by piece, and so I have," explains the hospitable host. This saying immediately explains why such a large number of specimens have found their way into a small house, which no one would expect to find what it contains! Even the largest museum would be proud of this armoury, there are so many interesting and valuable things. A multitude of sabres, swords, spears, lances, halberds, axes, firearms, missiles, mortars, armour, scythes, knives, daggers and so on. This is the first impression one receives upon seeing them. I envy the lucky owner. It is customary to list the most interesting specimens, in addition to satisfying the reader's curiosity with photographs. Most noteworthy are the swords, which seem to be the most ancient specimens in the collection. One beautiful piece is a two-handed sword, almost reaching the height of a man, with a handle long to both hands, with an ornamental hilt, slightly bent downwards, with ornaments in the shape of a whisker; two-thirds of the blade is double-edged, separated from the rest from above by a crescent-shaped projection. This projection, as well as the part from it to the hilt, is a blunt rectangular groove. As the sword was carried without a scabbard on the shoulder, the projection prevented the sword from slipping from the shoulder. This weapon was used by Swiss and German landsknechts (16th century) to pave the way for soldiers armed with lances and halberds against enemy infantry, as well as to defend walls against encroaching enemies. It was not widespread in Poland. One of the most valuable specimens in the collection is a Polish sword from the times of Casimir the Great. It has a blade tapering downwards, double-grooved, the hilt wrapped in iron wire, while the head and hilt are made of iron, openwork, with a distinctly Gothic character. Sword of the Slavonian guard of the Venetian Pits, so-called sciitrpoha, from the beginning of the 17th century. - the blade is rather wide, tapering towards the end, fluted at the top, the hilt entwined with iron wire, the hilt together with the strands of the hilt protects the whole hand from blows. There are two similar specimens in Mr Kruk's collection. The Lubomirski Museum has similar swords, slightly shorter, mistakenly given in the catalogue for Scottish swords. A French sword (with the Serpent's brand) with a bail handle points to the v. XV. Another double-edged straight sword, tapering towards the end, with Spanish inscription, the handle distinctive indicates a Mauritanian origin. The v. XV are also indicated by the remains of the hilt and hilt header of a straight double-edged sword and a blade, eaten away by rust. A rare specimen in museums is a weapon of Czech origin, the so-called dusak or cleaver. It is a wide, slightly curved blade, which instead of a handle has an oval opening at the top, serving both as a grip and a bail to protect the hand. This weapon was used in the 15th-16th centuries in Germany and especially in Bohemia. A very interesting specimen of the so-called brown damast is a short double-edged blade, whose laurel leaf shape indicates its medieval origin - it is a dagger, probably excavated, without handle and hilt. Of the group of halberds, one in particular stands out, with an axe of crescent shape, sloping downwards, with a short strong hook with a thin, quadrangular blade and a quadrangular sleeve, from which iron feathers (slats) emerge, reinforcing the axe on a quadrangular shaft from above, passing below into an octagonal one. A completely identical halberd can be seen in Amherger's painting, in the hand of the famous commander of the German Landsknechts, George von Frondsberg (16th century). A variation of the halberd, the bardisk, was also used in Poland. The category of flails includes a weapon, used especially in Bohemia by the Žižka taborites, consisting of a short wooden handle, forged with iron, from which a spiked iron ball hangs on a chain. A characteristic weapon of the peasant wars (15th-16th century) was the so-called Morgenstern, i.e. a spiked iron ball on a long handle. The interesting shape of the blade draws attention to a large and heavy axe on a long handle, most likely a Polish one - used in particular to repel an assault on walls. According to Dr Al Czółowski, this is the ceremonial axe of the butchers' guild. If this were the case, however, one would expect a somewhat more ornate shape, too simple in the specimen described. In Mr. Kruk's collection, the royal herald's mace is mistakenly regarded as a freemason's badge. This beautiful specimen is exquisitely carved in iron, in the style of the Renaissance. Completely similar mace, but earlier in style, can be seen on the heroes of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon in the painting by R. Balac - "Christopher Columbus in front of the royal couple in Barcelona" (1493). Of the sabres, one with a slightly curved blade, the Toledan one, is more interesting - a handle with a long hilt and a basket, covering the side of the hand from the blow. Among several Polish sabres, one with a long, curved blade, widened at the end, and with a chinlock handle (17th century) is noteworthy. Also beautiful is a Tartar sabre, not very long, with a blade with an eastern inscription and ornately carved hilt and scabbard fittings. Alleged to have once belonged to Khmelnytsky is a sabre with a slightly curved blade, with a modern handle, with the numerals, supposedly Cyrillic, of B. Khmelnytsky. Very interesting is a short sabre with a blade widened at the end, with a later made-up hilt. Also noteworthy are several Napoleonic sabres, Kościuszko sabres, sabres from noblemen's assemblies with hooks at the end of the blade, used for pulling off the caps of unsympathetic speakers, Frederick the Great's sabres and the like. More interesting among the rifles are those from the Napoleonic times, shield cutlery of the city shooting societies, rifles from the Zhovkva factory (inscription: "Peter-Forst - Zhovkva 1807"), a blunderbuss and a thick barrel, probably from a helicopter, and quite a few rock pistols. Other weapons and specimens include an iron shirt made of riveted circles, smaller in places requiring freedom of movement and very thick on the chest, a ryngraf with the Virgin Mary, a metal belt, the so-called "przeworki", a mace and a pistol. A few helmets from the times of the Thirty Years' War, a leather helmet of the English dragoons from Waterloo, three cheer mortars with the Leliwa coat of arms and the Lithuanian Pahonia, one wrought-iron cheer mortar, a bomb of unusual size, a lancer's lance and many others. Such is the arsenal of Mr St. Kruk, who is one of the first weapon collectors in Lviv. Apart from him, a valuable collection of Polish militaria is held by Dr. Miziewicz, Wł. Łoziński, Dr. Al. Czółowski, Mr. Zygm. Hartleb and several others. From the public collections, the Lubomirski Museum and the Sobieski National Museum have larger sets of Polish and foreign arms. It is to be hoped that Mr St. Kruk will not allow his painstakingly gathered collection to wander out into the world, and will want to remember to preserve it in the best possible way, which is always a public collection. And it would be a great pity if such valuable things were to go God knows where.