First edition of Arnost Dvorak’s landmark work of Czech avant-garde theater, published in Prague in 1923 by Cin. 8vo (5.75 × 7.75 inches), original pictorial wrappers, 113 pages. Cover design and three scenographic illustrations by Jiri Kroha. An exceptional association copy, inscribed by Dvořák to the Czech-American composer Jaromír Weinberger, dated Prague, May 15, 1923: “Drahému příteli Jaromíru Weinbergerovi vždy a zcela věrný Arnošt Dvořák” — “To my dear friend Jaromír Weinberger, always and wholly devoted, Arnošt Dvořák.”
An exceptional association copy linking two important figures of interwar Czech theater. Weinberger composed incidental music for Dvořák’s Husité (1922) and Bílá hora (1924); the warmly personal inscription falls directly between these collaborations, several years before the international success of Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper. Dvorak’s warm “to my dear friend” and declaration of loyalty push the inscription beyond conventional authorial presentation. Dated to 1923, the year of publication, it places the book in Weinberger’s hands during the period of their collaborative and experimental theatrical activity.
Kroha’s celebrated design for Nová Oresteia belongs to the radical Czech theatrical avant-garde of the early 1920s, his work for the production combining Expressionist, Constructivist and Dadaist elements. The wrapper is itself recognized as an important example of Czech book design and is represented in the Smithsonian Libraries' Czech Book Covers collection, where it is classified under Poetism.
A highly fragile copy requiring careful handling: Binding loose; light bumping and chipping to fore edge. Contents clean and bright. Front wrapper split; some bumping and chipping, with 1.5” closed tear to the lower left. Moderate rubbing and soiling to rear wrapper. Open tears to spine and outer edge of rear wrapper. Complete, retaining the original Kroha wrapper and all three illustrations.. A significant presentation copy whose Dvořák-Weinberger association substantially outweighs its compromised physical condition.
First edition of Arnost Dvorak’s landmark work of Czech avant-garde theater, published in Prague in 1923 by Cin. 8vo (5.75 × 7.75 inches), original pictorial wrappers, 113 pages. Cover design and three scenographic illustrations by Jiri Kroha. An exceptional association copy, inscribed by Dvořák to the Czech-American composer Jaromír Weinberger, dated Prague, May 15, 1923: “Drahému příteli Jaromíru Weinbergerovi vždy a zcela věrný Arnošt Dvořák” — “To my dear friend Jaromír Weinberger, always and wholly devoted, Arnošt Dvořák.”
An exceptional association copy linking two important figures of interwar Czech theater. Weinberger composed incidental music for Dvořák’s Husité (1922) and Bílá hora (1924); the warmly personal inscription falls directly between these collaborations, several years before the international success of Weinberger’s Schwanda the Bagpiper. Dvorak’s warm “to my dear friend” and declaration of loyalty push the inscription beyond conventional authorial presentation. Dated to 1923, the year of publication, it places the book in Weinberger’s hands during the period of their collaborative and experimental theatrical activity.
Kroha’s celebrated design for Nová Oresteia belongs to the radical Czech theatrical avant-garde of the early 1920s, his work for the production combining Expressionist, Constructivist and Dadaist elements. The wrapper is itself recognized as an important example of Czech book design and is represented in the Smithsonian Libraries' Czech Book Covers collection, where it is classified under Poetism.
A highly fragile copy requiring careful handling: Binding loose; light bumping and chipping to fore edge. Contents clean and bright. Front wrapper split; some bumping and chipping, with 1.5” closed tear to the lower left. Moderate rubbing and soiling to rear wrapper. Open tears to spine and outer edge of rear wrapper. Complete, retaining the original Kroha wrapper and all three illustrations.. A significant presentation copy whose Dvořák-Weinberger association substantially outweighs its compromised physical condition.
