Richard Lander woodcut bookplates 37 of 50

Lander, Richard. Ex Libris: Deset dřevorytů. [Bookplates. Ten Woodcuts]. Prague: Unie českých výtvarných umělců grafických, 1930. Octavo (21 × 14.5 cm). Loose as issued in the original printed wrappers. Complete with 10 original woodcut ex-libris plates, each printed on fine laid paper. With a two-page introduction by Antonín Matějček. Edition limited to 50 numbered copies, this being no. 37. A scarce portfolio of ex-libris designs by Richard Lander (1904–1980), Czech painter, printmaker, and co-founder (with Josef Bartuška) of Skupina Linie, established in České Budějovice in 1931. Linie was one of the most progressive regional avant-garde collectives in interwar Czechoslovakia, bringing together artists, architects, photographers, and filmmakers in pursuit of a modern, constructivist synthesis of the arts. The present suite contains finely printed ten woodcut bookplates. Lander’s work reveals a characteristic economy of form, linear clarity, and integration of symbolism and abstraction, hallmarks of the group’s graphic language. Art historian Antonín Matějček contributes a two-page essay situating Lander’s achievement in the broader context of contemporary Czech graphic art, praising his seriousness of purpose and avoidance of dilettantism. Wrappers only lightly handled, contents and plates crisp and clean. A well-preserved copy of this fragile and rare publication. Issued in just 50 numbered copies, this portfolio is now rarely encountered complete. An important early work by Lander, preceding his central role in Skupina Linie. Inv. I1