Trn: Humoristický Občasník [The Thorn: A Humorous Periodical]. Vol. I, No. 1 (1966) Through Vol. II, No. 4 (1968) (all Published) -

A complete run in 6 issues, each issue 32-48 pp., of the provocative satirical 60's Czech journal under the editorial direction of Jan Jirasek, published during the brief period of political liberalization leading up to the Prague Spring of 1968, with political satire, erotic and literary humor, and innovative typographic layout influenced by the post-war surrealist and avant-garde movements, and including literary and artistic contributions from Václav Havel, Jiří Sýkora, Josef Škvorecky, Bohumil Hrabal, Bohumil Štěpán, and Jan Ambrož. Illustrated throughout, including photomontages and full-page illustrations 4to. Orig. stapled pictorial wrpps. Brno (Večerní Brno) 1966-1968. The Prague Spring was a brief period of political liberalization during the era of Czechoslovakia's domination by the Soviet Union after World War II, beginning on January 5, 1968 with the election of reformist Alexander Dubcek as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC). It ended shortly thereafter, on August 21, 1968, when the Soviet Union and other members of the Warsaw Pact invaded the country to put a halt to the reforms and usher in a more repressive regime known as "Normalization". Provocative journals, including Trn, quickly ceased publication. Many of the contributors even emigrated or would not publish again until after 1989, when the Velvet Revolution peacefully ended Communist rule and ushered in a new age of democracy. A very scarce complete run of an important avant-garde journal; as of November 2017, WorldCat locates only one holding of a single issue in North America.