Ze vzpomínek nakladatele Františka Svobody na meziválečná léta
From the Memoirs of the Publisher František Svoboda on the Interwar Years

Summary/Abstract: The introductory paper presents a selected chapter from the handwritten memoirs of František Svoboda, a bookseller and publisher from Nusle, who became known in cultural spheres in the early 1920s when he began independent publishing activity. His company’s key book series in the category of fiction was Mladí autoři (Young Authors, 1923–1927), which focused on new authors and was first edited by the poet and critic A. M. Píša, followed by the novelist and publicist A. C. Nor. This publication presented more than two dozen original works by authors of the generation born around 1900 (e.g., the two editors, Konstantin Biebl, Lev Blatný, Adolf Hoffmeister, Jaroslav Hůlka, Jan Weiss, and Jiří Wolker) and gained a distinguished reputation. Svoboda also published the first volume of Most magazine and the Paprsek (Ray of Light) edition, which featured albums of graphic works by young artists (e.g., Jan Rambousek and Alois Rechziegel). The memoirs describe the beginnings of his publishing efforts in connection with his work for the Volná myšlenka publishing house and the many vicissitudes typical for new publishing businesses in the interwar period. Apart from his difficulty in obtaining a bookseller’s licence and the times of economic crisis of the interwar years, which resulted in a settlement with creditors in the late 1920s, the author also describes the decline and subsequent end of his own publishing activity. A separate theme of Svoboda’s memoirs provides a sense of his political engagement, first in connection with the Czechoslovak Socialist Party and later with his membership of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.

• Details
• Contents