Czech Book Covers of the 1920's and 1930's

Introduction
Explore the Collection
Selected Biographies
Bibliography
SIL Digital Library
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Library
Credits
Permissions
introduction

R.U.R.
Closer View

The Book:
Karel Čapek
R.U.R.

Book Design:
Book cover design by František Muzika for R.U.R. by Karel Čapek. Praha, František Borovy, 1935.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Piš jak slysšiš. Kniha interviewů
Closer View

The Book:
Adolf Hoffmeister
Piš jak slysšiš. Kniha interviewů

Book Design:
Book cover design by Adolf Hoffmeister for Piš jak slysšiš. Kniha interviewů (Write What You Hear. A Book of Interviews) by Adolf Hoffmeister. Praha, Družstevní práce, 1931.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Obytny dům dneška
Closer View

The Book:
Jan Emil Koula
Obytny dům dneška

Book Design:
Book cover design by Ladislav Sutnar for Obytny dům dneška (Residential Building of Today) by Jan Emil Koula. Praha, Družstenví práce, 1931.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Romance počestného clowna. Sbírka milostné lyriky z let 1925-1929
Closer View

The Book:
Břetislav Mencák
Romance počestného clowna. Sbírka milostné lyriky z let 1925-1929

Book Design:
Book cover design, typography, and illustrations by August Tschinkel for Romance počestného clowna. Sbírka milostné lyriky z let 1925-1929 (Romance of an Honorable Clown: Love Poems 1925-1929) by Břetislav Mencák. Hradec Králové, William Hampl, 1929.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Monogamie. Od Masaryka k Russelovi, od Russela socialismu
Closer View

The Book:
Stanislav Kostka Neumann
Monogamie. Od Masaryka k Russelovi, od Russela socialismu

Book Design:
Book cover design by Antonín Smazík for Monogamie. Od Masaryka k Russelovi, od Russela socialismu (Monogamy: From Masaryk to Russell, from Russell to Socialism). Praha, Otto Girgal, 1932.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Skleněny havelok. Básně z roku 1931
Closer View

The Book:
Vítěezslav Nezval
Skleněny havelok. Básně z roku 1931

Book Design:
Book cover design and typography by Karel Teige for Skleněny havelok. Básně z roku 1931 (The Glass Inverness Cape: Poems from 1931) by Vítěezslav Nezval. Praha, František Borovy, 1932.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Almanach 1: pro poesil a život 1920-1930
Closer View

The Book:
Stanislav Odvarko (ed.)
Almanach 1: pro poesil a život 1920-1930

Book Design:
Book cover design by Stanislav Odvarko for Almanach 1: pro poesil a život 1920-1930 (Almanac 1 of Poetry and Life 1920-1930) edited by Stanislav Odvarko. Praha, St. Odvarko, 1930.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Obráceni kapitána Brassbounda
Closer View

The Book:
George Bernard Shaw
Obráceni kapitána Brassbounda

Book Design:
Cover design and typography by Ladislav Sutnar; drawing on title page by Zdenĕk Kratochvíl for Obráceni kapitána Brassbounda (Obráceni kapitána Brassbounda) by George Bernard Shaw. Praha, Břetislav M. Klika, 1932.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Nejmenší dům
Closer View

The Book:
Oldřich Stary ; Ladislav Sutnar (eds.)
Nejmenší dům

Book Design:
Book cover design and typography by Ladislav Sutnar for Nejmenší dům (The Smallest House) edited by Oldřich Stary and Ladislav Sutnar. Praha, Svaz československého díla, 1931.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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ReD. Revue Svazu moderní kultury Devětsil
Closer View

The Book:
Karel Teige (ed.)
ReD. Revue Svazu moderní kultury Devětsil

Book Design:
Avant-garde Czech book design sprang from the Devětsil Artistic Union, a highly influential group of avant-garde poets, writers, artists, and designers active from 1920 to 1931. ReD, the most important of Devětsil ’s journals, published work by leading names in the fields of writing, art, and architecture, among them poetry by Mallarmé and Apollinaire; prose by James Joyce; reproductions of art by Arp, Chagall, Kandinsky, Brancusi, Mondrian and El Lissitzky; and articles on the architecture of Le Corbusier, Gropius, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Jaroslavu Královi k padesátinám
Closer View

The Book:
Bedrick Vaclavek (ed.) (?)
Jaroslavu Královi k padesátinám

Book Design:
Book cover design and typography by Zdeněk Rossmann for Jaroslavu Královi k padesátinám (For Jaroslav Král on his Fiftieth Birthday) edited by Bedrick Vaclavek (?). Brno, Index, 1934.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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Líčeni se odročuje. Detektivní komedie o 3 jednáních
Closer View

The Book:
Jiŕí Voskovec ; Jan Werich
Líčeni se odročuje. Detektivní komedie o 3 jednáních

Book Design:
Book cover design by Adolf Hoffmeister for Líčeni se odročuje. Detektivní komedie o 3 jednáních (Court is Adjourned. A Detective Comedy in 3 Acts) by Jiŕí Voskovec and Jan Werich. Praha, Václav Petr, 1929.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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New York—Zamlženo. Román
Closer View

The Book:
Němeček Zdeněk
New York—Zamlženo. Román

Book Design:
Book cover design by Jindřich Štyrsky for New York—Zamlženo. Román (New York—Fogbound: A Novel) by Zdeněk Němeček. Praha, Nakladatelství Sfinx, B. Janda, 1932.

Design Type:
Constructivism

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