Z dziejów cieszyńskiego muzealnictwa. Teodor Bulik (1849–1909) – działacz społeczny i kolekcjoner

This article describes the life of social activist and collector Teodor Bulik (1849–1909). Born in Zaborze (now a district of Cieszyn), he grew up and spent his life in Cieszyn. A shoemaker by trade, Bulik was also a sacristan in several churches, most notably in the St. Mary Magdalene church in Cieszyn. He was a member of the following Polish societies: the Blessed Jan Sarkander Heritage (Dziedzictwo bł. Jana Sarkandra), the Association of Silesian Catholics (Związek Śląskich Katolików), and the Macierz Szkolna Księstwa Cieszyńskiego. Bulik was also an avid collector of old objects – dishes, clothes, books, seals, tools, sculptures, paintings and woodcuts. In 1896 he began donating items from his collection to the Silesian Museum. In 1901 he joined the Polish Ethnological Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze), which was the planned museum’s institutional base. It can be estimated that approximately half of the Silesian Museum’s items came from Bulik’s private collection. These objects are currently kept in the Museum of Cieszyn Silesia. Bulik was something of an eccentric – he was known for his use of outdated vernacular language. The article can also be a contribution to the study of daily life of the citizens of Cieszyn at the turn of the century. The annex contains the first version of Teodor Bulik’s will from 1895.