THE STORY OF JOSEF HER_ĚK'S POSTAGE STAMPS
by Jan Chovanec, Prague 1998
Few collectors would dispute the technical excellence and artistic
beauty of many of the stamps of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
Many international prizes have been awarded their stamp production by
both philatelic and artistic organizations. This is no accident, but
rather reflects the strong artistic and technical traditions of those
countries. From the beginning of Czechoslovak stamp production in 1918,
the country's most talented artists were commissioned to design and
produce its stamps. This tradition continues today.
Many of the best stamps produced in Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic
have been a combination of the talents of the artist who produced a
design and of the engraver who "translated" the design into
the cameo miniature we call stamps. This"translation˛ process requires
extraordinary skill and patience, especially when the engraver is working
on steel plates. One slip and the plate is ruined and the process must
begin again.
Jan Chovanec has given an account of one of Czechoslovakia's best and
most prolific stamp engravers in his recently published book. Josef
Her_Ěk was born in Uherská Brod in 1922. Just prior to World War II
an arms factory was built in Brod because it was deemed necessary to
move CzechoslovakiaĚs arms industry into the interior of the country
and away from its threatened borders. Her_Ěk began working there in
1937 when he was just 15. According to his own account he learned both
patience and precision making flawless fire arms in that factory. He
also began his engraver's training from a master engraver who engraved
guns for customers who wanted them as show pieces as well as for hunting.
The first part of this book is based on conversations the author had
with Her_Ěk and includes interesting insights on how the engraver mastered
his art and how he became the producer of so many beautiful Czechoslovak
and Czech stamps. The bulk of the book deals with the specific stamps
the engraver created giving the story behind the stamp as well as the
engraver's approach to his subject. Chovanec focuses on stamps which
will be familiar not only to the general collector of Czechoslovak stamps,
but also to the thematic collector, since most of the stamps covered
have either an artistic or historical subject or, in many cases, both.This
is a short book written in good English, and extensively illustrated.
It will certainly prove of interest and useful to all collectors of
modern Czechoslovak stamps. THE STORY OF JOSEF HER_ĚK'S POSTAGE
STAMPS is available for $6.00 post paid through the Society's
book sales program.Jaroslav J Verner
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