Vodník Ivánek

Praze [Prague]: Nakladatelství Jos. R. Vilímek, 1930. Boards. Very good. Artuš SCHEINER. [JUVENILE] [WOMAN AUTHOR] [CZECH LANGUAGE]. Artuš SCHEINER, illustrator.
English: Aquarius Ivan, Prague: Jos. R. Vilimek, Publisher
4to, 76, [1] pp; color pictorial front board depicting a dancing boy waving an American flag, watched by a man and woman sitting on a couch; red cloth shelf-back; blue and cream pictorial endpapers; title page in red and black ink, vignette of Ivanek in red; thick paper stock; tinted head and tail pieces; fp + 7 color plates tipped in; light edge wear to boards, age-toned paper and foxing throughout; very good. OCLC locates (truncated) only 2 copies, one at Princeton University and the other at the National Library of the Czech Republic. This book is based loosely on the Czech legend of Vodník, the underwater creature living in the Vlatava River running through the city of Prague. In this tale, an underwater family, with a boy named Ivánek, lives under the Vyšehrad rock. Ivánek has adventures and misadventures with a human friend named Vinck, including a kidnapping to the United States. The first page illustration features a charming family scene at the top of the page picturing the cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in the Vyšehrad, an historic area of a former fort and castle overlooking the river.

A strong Art Deco influence in the art of Artuš Scheiner (1863-1938) can be seen on the front board. Scheiner was a painter, illustrator, and puppet maker living in Prague and known for his work in watercolor (gouache). (Inventory #: 1878)