One of only 20 copies

Hruska, Emmerich Al. ~ Rocenka 1927. (Yearbook 1927) : One of only 20 Copies With Fifteen Woodcuts Hand-Coloured And Signed By The Artist

Emmerich Al. Hruska, Praha : 1927

The sole printing published by Emmerich Al. Hruska, Praha in 1927. First casebound edition, written in the Czech language. Batik boards with brown cloth spine and corners. Gilt titles to the spine. The Book is in near Fine condition with the boards just having a touch of rubbing only. An attractive period bookplate to the front pastedown (Initials V R). 4 poems and 20 linocuts - 15 of which are printed on thicker stock paper and are hand coloured, numbered (all number '14'), titled and signed by Emmerich Hruska. The colophon - also signed and numbered by Hruska, shows that this is number '14' of only 20 copies issued. The colophon translates from the Czech as : 'From January to December 1926, I coloured and typed the text of the yearbook, which I printed for all 20 readers, this one has the number..'. It appears that there may have also been a wraps edition of c50-60 copies which did not include the woodcuts being signed and hand coloured. Internally very clean with just some very light spotting to the extreme page edges in places, and a very small brown mark to the extreme edge of one of the B/W woodcuts not affecting the image. A lovely example of early 20th Century Czech illustration. The book measures 230 x 180 mm (9 x 7 inches). E.A. Hruska (1897-1957) was a Czech painter, writer, editor, playwright, and publisher of bibliographies based in Kladno and Prague, also a sometime cabaret actor. He trained under Josef Vachal. The book is protected in a removable Mylar archival cover. Very scarce

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine