The first part of this article focuses on one strand in the history of the weekly magazine Przyjaciel Dzieci (The Children’s Friend) under the editorship of Jan Skiwski (1892–1911), i.e. the gradual revision of the rules concerning the selection of its literary content, laid down by his predecessor Jan Kanty Gregorowicz (1867–1890). Skiwski modified them without abandoning the principles and artistic models of 19th century realism.