first edition Hardcover
1897
by Cech, Svatopluk; Mucha, Alfons [Alphonse]
F. Simacek, 1897. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Mucha, Alphonse. Full green cloth boards with gilt lettering & decoration, 10" x 7-1/4", brown endpapers, 124 pp., plate and in-text illustrations. Binding slightly visible at center-fold illustration, but VG to Near Fine. Jiri Mucha gives a great account of this book in his 1989 biography "Alphonse Maria Mucha: His Life and Art". Mucha was worried about illustrating a historical book--where would he find the costumes? After he read the manuscript, he realized all these people could be more or less nude--nude models were easy to come by. (Inventory #: 201455)