1907 Jaroslav Benda design for Mahen

Jiří Mahen – Podivíni [The Eccentrics] Prague (Král. Vinohrady): František Adámek, 1907. Original illustrated wrappers, 8vo. (Moderní bibliotéka, vol. VI, no. 4; December 1907). First edition of Mahen’s early impressionist prose work, centered on Romantic dreamers and social outsiders. Wrapper design by Jaroslav Benda, a striking early example of Czech modernist book design, reproduced in Jindřich Toman’s Czech Cubism and the Book. Good condition. About 0.5 cm loss at head and foot of spine; otherwise sound, with typical light wear. Inv. i1