Search Results: Authors starting with V from Michael Fagan Fine Art & Rare Books

Moscow: Kinopechat', 1926 Octavo 14,5x11,5 cm., wrappers, 14pp. 15000 copies. Cover and book design by Konstantin Vialov. Emil Jannings (1884-1950) German actor, popular in the 1920s in Hollywood. He was the first Oscar recipient, honored with the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 1929 ceremony, the only German ever to have won that award. He is best known for his collaborations with F. W. Murnau and Josef von Sternberg, including 1930's The Blue Angel. Four North American institutional holdings. Glavlit 63794. This copy fine.

Prague: Melantrich, 1931 Octavo 16 x 13 cm., wrappers, 52pp., with 8-sided foldout panel with 71 photographs. "The Secret Life of Energy and Matter," is an unusual and delightful presentation edited and published by a panel of scientists including J. Stoklas, A. Ostrcil, F. Behounek, F.V. Novák, and architect Josef Hesoun. Photomontage cover by Hesoun. Author Karel Smrz was also a film historian of note. There is an indication this was done with the cooperation of the Czechoslovak Radium Institute. Uncommon, no copies found in North American libraries.

Octavo 22x15.5 cm., wrappers, 56pp. Cover design by El Lissitzky. Razumnik V. Ivanov-Razumnik (1878-1946) was a leftist critic, writer and leader of the literary group Skify which included Blok, Kliuev, Esenin and Olga Forsh. He developed a critical theory of literary history over many decades and changes. At this point he took on Mayakovsky, leveling a penetrating critique on Futurism in general and the poet in particular. He does credit Mayakovsky for hismechanistic, realistic rhymes and considers him a load bearer of Russian verse, but he is otherwise merciless. Lissitzky's Constructivist design here employs a crossword motif he will use over many years to come. OCLC locates 9 institutional holdings in North America. A fine copy. 2800

Quarto 24x19 cm., wrappers, (12) pp. Drawings by Vera Ivanovna Ivanova (1896-1948) was a children's book artist noted for a number of significant works. Author Vera Vasil'evna Smirnova (1898-1977) was a children's book author, literary critic and memoirist. The point of the book is to make friends with everyone, provided they aren't bourgeois. No copies held institutionally according to OCLC. Rare, near fine copy.

Moscow: Goduk, 1930 Quarto, wrappers, 94(2)pp.Progressive illustrated journal with covers and page design by the Stenberg brothers in their time at the helm of the art dept. The journal ran from 1925 to 1941. During the 1920s it was graced with experimental design, and was an outlet for creative types who didn t goad the authorities into suppression. Copies from this time found at MOMA, UC Berkeley and Univ of Chicago libraries. This copy near fine.

Moscow: Goduk, 1928 Quarto, wrappers, 101(4)pp. Contributors include Iuri Olesha, A. Bezymenskii, Lunacharskii, Koltsova, inter alia. Progressive illustrated journal with covers and page design by the Stenberg brothers in their time at the helm of the art dept. The journal ran from 1925 to 1941. During the 1920s it was graced with experimental design, and was an outlet for creative types who didn’t goad the authorities into suppression. Copies from this time found at MOMA, UC Berkeley and Univ of Chicago libraries.

Prague: Druzstveni Práce, 1938 Large quarto, wrappers, 216pp. in 7 fasicules (all published) released over a two-year period. Václav Vilém Stech (1885-1974) was a highly respected Czech art historian who specialized in Renaissance and Baroque art, receiving numerous honors and prestige for his work in these fields. This work appeared as a series of historical examinations of Czech and Moravian art from the Baroque forward. This was a book in the making, which was intended to form a much larger work. It apparently ceased publication with the 7th fascicule dealing with the the early 18th century, leaving words in mid-sentence, because the bibliographic record stands at that precise page count. Uncommon, recorded in only one North American library. Very good condition.

Quarto (27x18.5 cm.), original wrappers, 96pp. Vladimir Vasil'evich Bakrylov (1892-1922) was a writer and journalist appointed by Lunacharsky to the Ministry of Public Education and later to the Commissar of state theaters in Petrograd to "liquidate sabatoge" among the actors. He became fascinated by Russian theater history, and in particular an old comedy about the pagan monarch who tries to get the boy to denounce Christianity. It dated back over 300 years and was well known to Russian peasants, soldiers, and factory workers. Bakrylov created his own version, drawing on over nineteen variants of the famous folk play. The present work was Nikolai Tyrsa's first book commission and is a wonderful literary abstract design on both front and rear covers. Tyrsa (1887-1942) was a student of Leon Bakst; he went on to become one of the USSR's greatest children's book illustrators. OCLC locates seven holdings in North America. A near fine copy

Kladno: Nase Cesta, 1932 A4, 19 pages. Edited by Václav Pekarek. A Social Activist Journal. Features rare illustrations by Cologne Progressives. Three illustrations by Peter Alma and one by one by Wladimir Krinski. Photograms by Raoul Hausmann. A rare appearance of the Cologne Progressives (a movement that grew out of Expressionism and Dada) in Czech periodicals, probably under influence of August Tschinkel who most likely designed the periodical anonymously and who actively participated in the group. Good condition with wear at edges. Unmarked pages. Horizontal crease. Rather than caricature the class enemy, the Progressives attempted to visualize the social relationships that gave the ruling class its power. The group was heavily influenced by anarchism, with many of the political constructivists contributing to a range of anarchist and socialist publications. Nase cesta was a student journal published in Kladno from 1929 to 1935. No institutional copies held inside the Czech Republic or out. Rare!

Prague: Odeon, 1927 Octavo 20x14 cm., wrappers, 188pp. Typography & cover by Karel Teige. Bedrich Václavek (1897-1943) was a Marxist theoretician, critic and literary theorist. He was the intellectual driving force in Devetsil. This is his first book, “From Art to Creation,” which championed poetism, and led to developing a rationale for a socialist realism. He became the most influential figure in literary studies and authored Czech Literature of the 20th Century in 1935, recognized as the best assessment to date. A visible public figure, he managed the Leva Fronta after 1930 and later and participated in the resistance under the occupation. Executed in Auschwitz. OCLC finds ten copies of this first edition in North American institutions.

Splendid, erotic, quasi-surrealist Muzika drawingsSmall octavo 13.5 x 9.7 cm, custom ½-calf, 77pp., no. 157 in an edition of 350; Published by Stanislav K. Neumann. A fine little work with five exquisite drawings by František Muzika in a Czech translation with a foreword of the poetry of Martial by Josef Dietrich. Muzika's artwork of this time combines elements of classical and erotic elements with surrealist space (he never formally aligned himself with the surrealist movement). Found in three North American libraries. Very fine artwork in a bibliophile production, in near fine condition.

Tartu: Noor-Eesti Kirjastus, 1927 Octavo, wrappers, 266pp. Cover design by Peet Arenilt. Vallak was the pseudonym for Peeter Pedaias (1893-1959) initially studied painting but moved to fiction as a means to combine realism of the commoner with fantasy in expressionist novels of the 1920s. Later conformed to the dictates of the day. No copies of this first edition found in worldcat. A 2005 edition without this cover design still finds no North American library holdings.

Prague: Druzstveni Prace, 1929, 1929 Octavo (18.5 x 13.5cm, 7-3/8 x 5-3/8in), decorated cloth. 138pp, in an edition of 1040. Publisher's cloth cover, with abstraction by Frinta, 5 full-page illustrations, title and 5 tail-pieces by Toyen. This cloth edition includes the trade paper wrapper. PEKAR JAN MARHOUL is considered to be Vancura's greatest novel. Vancura (1891-1942) is held as one of the most important Czech writers of the modern era; his novels are particularly distinguished, the most famous one being Pekar Jan Márhoul, which received many printings and was translated into many languages. He was involved in the Tvrdošíjní group from a young age and participated in the leading modernist developments in Czechoslovakia as a literary light and also as film director, playwright and screenwriter. He suffered the fate as one of the elite executed in response to the Heydrich assassination. Condition near fine.

Octavo 23x15.5cm., wrappers, 46 (2)pp. 3000 copies. Not to be confused with Kamenskii's play Sten'ka Razin from 1916, this poem was extracted from his novel of the same name, which he worked on from 1912-1920. The subject Stepan Razin (1630-1671) was a Cossack who is famed for leading a popular uprising against the landed gentry and Tsarist bureaucracy in Southern Russian from 1670 to 1671. Razin was both a proponent for freeing Cossacks but also a brigand who terrorized local townships on the Volga for booty,By the time he led the rebellion he had acquired a reputation for supernatural powers from his skill in battles in Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Astrakhan and Persia. The rebellion was successful in many towns and cities, but finally routed by tsarist troops and Razin was executed in pieces in Red Square. He posthumously became a folk hero with legendary tales, music and film. Kamenskii (1884-1961) loomed large in the world of Russian Futurism. His poetry of that era largely gave way to prose works by… Read More

A large pamphlet announcing the film
"Liberated Prague," directed by Otakar Vávra. Vávra (1911-2011) was a renowned film director, screenplay author and teacher who enjoyed a long career from 1934, producing films under several regimes until 2003. As a communist party member he easily embraced the party line, which has tarnished his reputation. This film, released in the heady days of liberation from Nazi occupation, employed an international cast of many major film talents of the day (Vladimir Směral. Josef Vetrovec, Sergei Polozajev, Nikolai Grenko, Vladislav Strzelcik, Mikhail Pogorzhelskii i.a.). The pamphlet is impressive, utilizing constructivist page design and photomontage. Miloslav Faber furnished the commentary. Worldcat finds no holdings for this work worldwide, not even NKC; rare, and in near fine condition.

Prague: Tramp, 1930 Octavo, wrappers, 61pp. No. 12 of 50 signed copies. Géza (pseud. of Antonín Eduard) Vcelicka (1901-1966) was a poet, journalist and wanderer. He was a driving presence in the journal „Tramp,“ which he led for years. Tramp was a wild leftist publication, and extolled the virtues of living on the edge, avoiding conventional responsibilities and behavior, not buying into any system. Tramp was taken directly from the English, probably from Jack London’s writings. Tramping became rather widespread among the Czech and Slovak youth, taking freely to the woods and escaping the humdrum monotony of factory and bourgeois life. Vcelicka defended Tramping as a way of life throughout his career and up to his death. The present work (Footprints of Dreams) is a collection of poems from the previous two years of free wandering. Vcelicka designed the cover as well as a drawing of a guitarist to accompany his poems. The book has been republished over the years, but only… Read More

Published in an edition of 17 copies, this is a highly dramatic work illustrating the eponymous poem by Carducci (1835-1907), noted poet, historian and politician. SATANU is a magnificent work in large format (59 x 34 cm) twenty-one folded leaves with 11 full-page hand-colored woodcuts and 3 smaller linocuts, also in color. Váchal made the paper by hand, created the 1000 printed characters of his own making, and printed it in his studio in the Prague district of Vršovice. The book is signed in the colophon and numbered by three thumbprints and four fingerprints, making this the seventh copy. This copy housed loose in a custom portfolio with embossed title. Váchal presents us with a series of visual meditations that are some of his strongest, including an abstraction with alchemical symbols and possibly one of the most remarkable busts of the Lord of Darkness in the frontispiece. The artist was a lover of fine literature and poetry, and Carducci provides ample catalytic power in his strong… Read More

Quarto 24x16.5 cm., new bound wrappers, 403 (6)pp. 42 woodcuts, 1 linocut, 4 photos, unnumbered copy in an edition of 457. This copy uncut, in newly bound wrappers preserving the original cover illustration. Hand printed by his partner Anna Macková at her expense in a private edition under Vachal's press name Politika. An autobiographical memoir of Vachal's participation in WWI as a soldier on the front. The river valley Soča in modern Slovenia had a profound and lasting impact on Váchal, where its surrealistic beauty contrasted with the blood and gore of battle. As a soldier, Váchal drew and wrote prolifically under terrifying conditions where his visionary and spiritist temperament met with a gruesome charnal ground.. OCLC locates 3 holdings in North America (PA State, Univ IL, Indiana). Later printings lack original graphics. This copy fine.

Portfolio of original woodcuts by Josef Váchal
Woodcuts to Mystics and Visionaries. A Cycle of Woodcuts from the Period of 1911-1913. Folio in wrappers (21-5/8 x 15-3/8 inches), prints are 8-1/4 x 8-1/4 inches. Five woodcuts saluting the life of mystics and seers: Strom Života (The Tree of Life), Cornelius Agrippa, Jakob Boehme, Angelus Silesius and Katařina Emmerichová, all loose as issued, in paper folio with titles and artist's signature on rear cover. Each print bears Váchal's blind-stamp. These were selected from the original printing of ten images under the title Mystikové a visionaři. A number of books and catalogues attribute one image from this set to William Blake, from the mistaken attribution in the great 1994 Váchal memorial exhibition. That refers to another of the original ten and we offer it separately; please inquire. The edition itself, without note of limitation, comes from a later date than the first release in 1913 and was released sometime around 1923. This later… Read More

Brno: Edice Ra (Rovnost), 1946 Large octavo 21x15 cm., wrappers, 61(4)pp. Cover and book design by Vaclav Zykmund. A colloquium of writings and art by the postwar surrealist group Ra. In the brief era following the liberation and restoration of Czechoslovakia and before the communist takeover, there was an upsurge of experiment and pioneering in the arts and literature. The Ra group was consisted of young surrealists connected with Karel Teige and the journal Kvart in the 1930s. They didn't accept psychic automatism, were more ironic and had a bent for self-parody, and didn't share the self-importance and pretense of the Paris surrealists. These Czech surrealists set the pattern of outsider art that would persist through the communist era. During the war they worked and published underground. This collection brings the principals together, with art, photography and writings both pre- and post-liberation by Josef Istler, Milan Korecek, Ludvik Kundera, Bohdan Lacina, Vilem Reichmann, Václav Tikal and… Read More