Hollar: A Czech Emigre in England (Only Signed Copy)

Johannes Urzidil

Published by Published by the 'Czechoslovak', London, 1942

About this Item

In English. First Edition (SD). Once listed, this will be the Only signed copy of the book for sale anywhere on the Internet. The signed inscription is on the half-title page (see photograph). It reads 'To Miss Dorothy Hull, with the best compliments from the author, Jan Urzidil, New York, January 17, 1943.' On the copyright page is stated 'Published by the 'Czechoslovak' , London April 1942, in collaboration with Dr. Ernest Goldschmidt. One thousand and five hundred copies printed on Abbey Mill paper. One hundred copies printed on White Adelphi laid paper.' Dr. Ernest Goldschmidt has been described as 'an outstanding authority on Hollar', and on the Internet there's a photograph of 'Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth with the President of Czechoslovak Republic visiting a Hollar exhibition at the Czechoslovak Institute, London. The exhibition was organized by Dr. Goldschmidt.' You can see the beige card boards in the photos. The front cover has a few spots of soiling. It also very clearly bows upward as it approaches its middle edge. There is a small spot of rubbing over two letters in the author's name on the spine. There is also a thin tear coming up from the bottom edge of the spine, and the vertical edges of the spine are a little bit higher than the center. The rear cover has just a little bit of handling soiling. It too rises as it moves toward its middle edge. There is a small crease at its top corner. Because the covers bow up the textbook sticks out a little bit from between them. However, the book is very solidly bound. I'm not finding any instances of a crack or space between any of the facing pages or between the covers and any of the pages. Despite their bowing outward, both covers are nicely, tightly, bound. The pages are in very good condition. The first page is the signed half-title page. It is followed by the frontispiece and the title page and then the List Of Illustrations. Including the frontispiece there are thirty illustrations. The illustrations are all in very nice condition, very clean. Both the text pages and the illustrations have a fair amount of crinkling, as you can see in the photographs. The illustrations are on glossy paper. Nevertheless, they have very little to no spotting or foxing. Some of the text pages that face the glossy illustrations have a slight amount of receded tan spotting at a margin or two, nothing conspicuous. The signed half-title page does have some tan spotting, but the title page does not. There are no markings in the book. There are no attachments of any kind. And with the exception of the author's signed inscription, no one has written their name or anything else anywhere. 'Wenceslaus Hollar was a prolific and accomplished Bohemian graphic artist of the 17th century, who spent much of his life in England. He is known to German speakers as Wenzel Hollar and to Czech speakers as Václav Hollar. He is particularly noted for his engravings and etchings. He was born in Prague. He died in London, and was buried at St. Margaret's Church, Westminster. Collections of Hollar's work are kept in the British Museum in London, the print room at Windsor Castle, the Fisher Library at the University of Toronto, the National Gallery in Prague, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.' Johannes Urzidil was a German-Bohemian writer, poet and historian. His father was a German Bohemian and his mother was Jewish. According to his New York Times obituary, 'he was a close friend of Franz Kafka' and 'his works express a deep appreciation for Kafka.' 'He fled when the Nazis occupied Prague because his wife, Gertrude Urzidil-Thieberger, was a member of a prominent Jewish family. He had founded and edited the expressionistic magazine Der Mensch. He won a number of prizes during his career, including the Charles Veillon Prize and the Großer Österreichischer Staatspreis.'.

Seller Inventory # 005034

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Hollar: A Czech Emigre in England (Only Signed Copy)
• Publisher: Published by the 'Czechoslovak', London
• Publication Date: 1942
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Good
• Signed: Inscribed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • One-Of-A-Kind
  • Art
  • Signed Biography, Autobiography