Czech Cubism and the book

Many avant-garde movements of the early twentieth century found an entirely unique expression in Czechoslovakia. Cubism was perhaps the supreme instance of this; as Czech art historian Miroslav Lamac famously commented, around 1912, "Prague became the city of Cubism with Cubist apartment blocks full of Cubist flats furnished with Cubist furniture. The inhabitants could drink coffee from Cubist cups, put flowers in Cubist vases, keep the time on Cubist clocks, light their rooms with Cubist lamps and read books in Cubist type." Today a rich literature has arisen on Czech Cubist painting and architecture, but the role of book design in Czech Cubism has not been the subject of a study. This wonderful volume collects book designs by Frantisek Kysela, V. H. Brunner, Jaroslav Benda and Method Kaláb, tracing its impact on typography in early 1920s Czechoslovakia.