The Tinder Box
Book Description
The Tinder Box Pop-Up Book written by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by noted Czechoslovakian illustrator, Vojtech Kubasta (1914-1992). Kubasta worked his entire career in Prague for Artia, the state-run publishing and trading house for Soviet Czechoslovakia. He began making Pop-Up books for Artia in the mid-1950s, he developed a simple method of cut-and-folded cardstock with a slant-cut tha...
MoreThe Tinder Box Pop-Up Book written by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by noted Czechoslovakian illustrator, Vojtech Kubasta (1914-1992). Kubasta worked his entire career in Prague for Artia, the state-run publishing and trading house for Soviet Czechoslovakia. He began making Pop-Up books for Artia in the mid-1950s, he developed a simple method of cut-and-folded cardstock with a slant-cut that gave the illustrations greater volume and depth and allowed the scenes to extend beyond the edges of the page. Many of his Pop-Up books incorporated pull-tab mechanisms, adding to the tableaux's complexity. The old Czech presses allowed for the heavy application of dyes. During printing, the paper became richly saturated with color that appropriately supported Kubasta's highly stylized faux-naif design and leads to a rich illustration. Until the late 1950s, Kubasta's work was rarely seen outside of Eastern Europe. Leopold Schliesser has been credited with introducing Kubasta's work to the West. Schliesser was a Jewish banker from Prague who had fled the Nazis in 1938, and became the owner of Bancroft & Company, a London firm. During the late 1950s, Bancroft, Inc. negotiated with Artia to import the titles under the new imprint, Westminster Books. In the early 1960s, American entrepreneur, Waldo Hunt sought to bring Kubasta's Pop-Ups Books to the U.S and placed an order of 1 Million copies with Bancroft only to have Artia turn the offer down saying that they couldn't increase production. Sadly, Kubasta died before knowing the pivotal role his illustrated books played in the worldwide resurgence of pop-ups and movable books. Book is in Acceptable Condition (see photos) with wear along the Cover's corners and two pages have damage to the Pop-ups, but all the other pages are intacted. Colors are still very nice. Last page has publishers trademark with copyright. Printed in Czechoslovakia (stated). A fine example of Kubasta's work.
Publisher | Bancroft & Co., |
Binding | Hardcover (29 editions) |
Reading Level | Uncategorized
|
# of Pages | N/A |
ISBN-10 | B0034OPZUE |
Publication Date | /1960 |
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