A Book Judged By Its Cover

I don't read Czech, but the embossed art nouveau front cover of this 1902 book grabbed my attention.

The back cover has this seal with the publisher's name


An author bust on a title page

does tend to suggest that the contents are considered classic.

Through the magic of the Internet, I've learned that Svatopluk Čech (1846-1908) was a journalist and poet who promoted national and Slavic identity. The Czechs, of course, were still ruled by Austro-Hungary during his lifetime, which was also a period of burgeoning nationalism throughout Europe.

This volume is Čtyři cykly básní (Four poetry cycles), a collection of works Čech wrote in the 1880s. Titles (according to Google Translate) are: Ve stínu lípy (In the Shade of Linden Trees); Jitřní písně (Morning Song); Nové písně (New Song); and Z potulek (unidentfied).

I haven't tried looking for translations of Mr. Cech's verse, so have no idea how it reads today. With all the political and cultural change since 1902, the Czech writers I've been drawn to read in English were writing much later, about a very different world.

But Czech decorative art of the early 20th century was a wonderful thing, as a small sample here shows.

And this unexpected book find is a link to that era.