Herbert Schlenger · 1955
The review describes the first three instalments of Atlas Polski, issued in Warsaw in 1953–1954 by the Central Office of Geodesy and Cartography and the State Cartographic Publishing Enterprise, each containing six sheets. The multicolour atlas alternates full-sheet maps with maps confined to the mapped territory, uses varying scales, mostly 1:2 million, and supplies a detailed water network on most sheets. Issue I covers historical maps, political divisions, soils, geology, geomorphology and gravity. Issue II covers elevation, hydrography, plant geography, flora and vegetation, forests and zoogeography; the reviewer singles out W. Szafer's plant-geographical overview as one of the richest maps in content. Issue III presents climate maps, including temperature, precipitation and pressure for six selected months, and typical weather situations from 1949–1952; E. Romer prepared the first two synthesis sheets. Because the published instalments provide no overview of the atlas's overall structure, the reviewer withholds a general judgment but considers the work in progress worthy of the geographical profession's attention.
Ena L. Yonge · 1957
In a survey of national atlases, the article gives one paragraph to the Atlas Polski. It reports that the Central Geodetic and Cartographic Office in Warsaw was producing it, with the first four parts received; no description of the planned extent was available, and the plates were unnumbered. Each part then contained six plates, with general maps at 1:2,000,000 and special maps at 1:5,000,000 and 1:6,000,000. The reviewer criticizes the poor paper and the resulting damage to printing and general appearance. Part I covers historical and political geography, general geology, geomorphology, gravity, and soils; Part II relief, hydrography, forests, fauna and flora; Part III climate; Part IV phenology, meadows and grasslands, and geological periods. The maps were compiled by leading Polish scientists and resemble those in Eugeniusz Romer's Geograficzno-statystyczny atlas polski.
E. Neef · 1957
The review assesses installments I–IV of Atlas Polski, listed as published in 1963–1966, each containing eight map sheets. Their coverage is predominantly physical geography; economic-geographical maps had not yet appeared. The reviewer notes that no fixed program or editorial board is stated, sheets are unnumbered, and thematic organization and quality are uneven, while valuing the collection as research material that could eventually underpin a conventional national atlas. Particular praise goes to geological maps compiled from 1:1 million source maps: W. Pożaryski and Z. Rühle’s map excluding Quaternary and Tertiary deposits depicts tectonic structure and permits reconstruction of Mesozoic surface relief, while E. Rühle and M. Sokołowska’s Quaternary map complements J. Kondracki’s geomorphological treatment. Kondracki’s extension beyond Poland’s borders facilitates comparison with German interpretations. The reviewer also singles out W. Szafer’s geobotanical regionalization in installment II. Muted printing, difficult-to-distinguish colors, and Polish-only explanations prompt recommendations for supplementary letter symbols and explanations in an international language. The reviewer regards the atlas as especially useful to geographers unable to read Polish scholarship.
