In August 1934, the famous American researcher Louise Boyd made a three-month journey through the territory of Poland at that time, photographing and describing the customs, clothing, economy and culture of ethnic Poles, Ukrainians, Belarusians and Lithuanians.
For her journey, she used a car, a train, a boat. She even moved on foot. First from Lviv to Kovel (modern Ukraine), and then to Kobrin - Pinsk - Kletska - Nesvizh - Slonim (these cities are today in Belarus). The final destination was Vilnius.
A village in Galicia, 1934
Collection of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA)
Lviv, where Louisa Boyd first set foot on Ukrainian soil on September 24, 1934, became the first stop of her Polish expedition. The woman was stunned by the beauty of nature, architecture and hospitality of local residents.
The American woman, as a delegate of the International Geographical Congress, was accompanied by talented Polish photographers - Stanisław Gozuhowski and Wanda Rewenska, who helped capture the incredible views and moments of their journey.
Panorama, Kolomyia, 1934
Collection of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA)
Photos taken from the car window are of particular interest. They added expressiveness and dynamics to the compositions, capturing unknown details and moments that are usually overlooked. These shots preserve the energy of that time, transporting to the world of the past, where every corner of nature hides its secrets.
After her return, Louise Boyd's account of the trip was supplemented with more than 500 photographs and published by the American Geographical Society in 1937.
Louise Arner Boyd, in the field, somewhere in Galicia, 1934
Collection of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA)
It should be recalled that Louise Boyd began traveling in the early 1920s. While in Norway in 1924, Boyd came to the sea and saw the polar ice for the first time. This experience played an important role in her life, and the future researcher immediately began planning her own Arctic journey.
Louise Boyd presented the world with unique images that allow you to look into the past of Ukraine and feel the pulse of its life. Her expedition became an important part of the history of Polissia, thanks to the materials that allowed the Western world to deepen its understanding of this unique land.
Woman in Horodenka (Ivano-Frankivsk region), 1934
On the streets of Lviv, 1934
A well in a village, Western Ukraine, 1934
River Prutets Yablunytskyi (Ivano-Frankivsk Region), 1934
Panorama of the village, Carpathians, 1934
Panorama of the village, Carpathians, 1934
Panorama of the village, Carpathians, 1934
Commercial buildings on the outskirts of Boryslav, 1934
Road to Bolekhiv, 1934
Source: uwm.edu
