"HE IMAGINED HE WAS THE BRAVEST WARRIOR OF THE WHOLE TRIBE…": THE DAY OF THE BISON HUNT BY CZECH ARTIST VOJTECH KUBASTA, FEATURING AN EXQUISITE LARGE POP-UP SCENE

KUBASTA, Vojtech. The Day of the Bison Hunt. (London): Bancroft, circa 1962. Folio (9 by 13 inches), staple-bound as issued, original half red cloth, original pictorial paper boards; pp. 8 and double-page pop-up. $650.

First edition of this story of a young Native American boy who dreams of becoming a great hunter and warrior, with delightful, double-page pop-up of an American Indian camp by acclaimed artist and paper engineer Kubasta.

This wonderful pop-up book includes an eight-page story and an extremely large pop-up (17-3/4 by 12-1/2 by 10-3/4 inches) about a Native American bison hunt. "In the late 1950s, architect and illustrator Kubasta's work took a major shift. It is not known specifically what influenced him to experiment with movable illustrations, but with an architect's eye for three dimensions, a graphic artist's talent for illustrating, and a cultural bias towards puppetry and folk tales, Kubasta possessed all the elements to uniquely construct pop-up books… His genius was to take a single sheet of cardstock and cut and fold it so that at least four dimensional layers were formed. For some illustrations, additional pieces were added which could be moved with a tab [as here]… Kubasta's faux-naif style with a Bohemian flavor is somewhat exotic to an American eye" (Ellen G.K. Rubin). "His pop-up books have appeared in 24 different languages and 35 million copies have been sold. Today, original editions of his illustrations and books are sought after by collectors from around the world" (James A. Findlay). Kubasta's works were all printed in Czechoslovakia using a special pre-war press at the state-run company, Artia Prague. They were then published for various markets, including Great Britain. Montanaro, 68.

A few minor expert paper repairs to pop-ups, text generally quite nice, wear to extremities of boards including small chip. An extremely good copy.