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Kubašta, Vojtěch - Lidov Betlem
Pop-up Nativity
1953. 1st edition. Complete.
Extremely hard to find Kubasta nativity. Very good condition with no tears. All parts original, un-cut, un-assembled.
Movable Stationary printed an article by movable book expert, Theo Gielen in November of 2013, Volume 21, number 4. Theo mentions the possibility that this very early Kubasta nativity might exist because Dagmar remembered seeing it in her home as a child during that time. As evidenced here, it does indeed exist - but this is the only copy that we have ever found. Opus VK describes a 1967 edition with the same scene but this is the first 1953 edition, not the later one. It was also reproduced again in 1991 (see below). It is interesting to note that these first 1950's Kubasta nativities were printed on cheap, newspaper like paper. The instructions (in czech) translate to “Glue the crib to weaker cardboard, cut it out and fold under.
(remember window, door, gate, window in the room can be cut and colored or cellophane
added.)
Excellent vintage un-cut
condition! The two large sheets were lightly folded in half
for over 60 years but there is not an obvious crease line or damage to the figures.
The words on the roof are: pokoj lidem dobre vule (Peace To
His People)
Collectors Corner:
See the November 13 Volume 21 Number 4 edition of Movable Stationary for an informative article on all of Kubasta's Christmas pop-ups by Theo Gielen.
According to the book Pop-ups, Illustrated Books, and Graphic Designs of Czech Artist and Paper Engineer, Vojtech Kubašta (1914 - 1992) by James A Findlay and Ellen G.K. Rubin, "Among the more collectible and rare of Kubašta’s pop-ups are the nativity tableaux. It is estimated that he made fifteen to seventeen nativities including table decorations, greeting cards, and crèches"
The decorative creche sets, some with the stand alone figures are difficult to find with all the pieces. They started out as construction sheets that you put together. The ones that we know about are:
The very first one appeared in 1939 in the Czech magazine Echoes (we will post photos on this website soon)
The next 4 were all inserted into a Czech magazine
in 1951, 1952, 1953, and 1954 as Christmas decorations. They were:
1. ČESKÉ
JESLIČKY – “CZECH crib” –
1951 (re-printed in Czechoslovakia in 1991, by Grafiatisk, A.S., with the later edition on heavier paper and entitled Český Betlém
2. Pojďte s námi do Betléma - "Come with us to Bethlehem" - 1952 (no known re-prints)
3. Lidovy Betlem - "People’s Crèche" - 1953 - reprinted in both 1967 and 1991 on heavier paper (The one here is the original 1953 edition)
4. Moravské Jesličky - "Moravian crib" - 1954 (We have this one in our collection as well. With no re-prints known - few collectors know what it looks like. Please feel free to inquire.
Later sets:
Lidove Jesličky - "People's Nativity" - 1967 and 1968 - possible 1991 reprint
Vánoční betlém - (Looks like a Palm Tree nativity) 1968 Oftis - 1990 Giamon Roman - later pirated editions in 90's and poorly printed 2011 edition.
Pražský betlém - 1968 Orbis, 1969 Orbis and a 1991 panorama construction sheet
Loretansky Betlem - Orbis - 1972
Product Code: K-38
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