Josef Portman a Miloš Marten
Josef Portman and Miloš Marten

Summary/Abstract: From 1920 to 1955, Josef Portman (1883–1968), a printer and publisher in the Bohemian town of Litomyšl, published more than 300 rare book titles, whose extraordinarily low print runs fully corresponded to their all-round demanding artistic designs. Of the Czech authors whom he published, Portman focused most on the little-known short works of prose fiction by Miloš Marten (1883–1917), a leading Czech literary critic. From 1922 to 1937, Portman published a total of twelve of Marten’s works. These include, in particular, short fairy tales or fables with philosophical features, private diary entries, sometimes with further elaborated ideas and observations, and also three longish scholarly essays. All of these volumes are typeset by hand and are decorated with original graphic art by Zdenka Braunerová (1858–1934), Josef Váchal (1884–1969), and Jan Konůpek (1883–1950). This article, focused on Marten’s works published by Portman, is the first part of a larger essay that includes other writers, Czech and foreign, whom over the years Portman developed a particular interest in publishing.

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