Witold Edward Koneczny was born 25 October 1905 in Armawir, Armenia. He grew up in Warsaw. In 1928, he received his diploma in Aviation Engineering from the University of Michigan, after which he returned to Warsaw. In March 1939, he emigrated to the US with his American wife, Esther Backman, and their son, settling in Virginia, not far from Washington DC. He worked for several American government bodies until 1973, including the Federal Aviation Administration, where he represented the US in the 1962 negotiations with the USSR on the first Aeroflot flights between Moscow and Washington. He died on 24 March 1974 in the USA.

• Koneczny’s collection is made up of nearly 80 slides, showing the life in the capital in the 1930s, as seen through the eyes of a Varsovian – an observer and participant in the great events. Squares, architecture and statues, military parades, sporting events – including the International Gordon Bennett Cup (ballooning) – and the everyday life of the city were Koneczny’s subjects. Some of his most exceptional shots include those of Marshal Pilsudski’s funeral procession on 17 May 1935.