The First Woodcut Novel Published By A Woman

Z MÉHO DĚTSTVÍ [From My Childhood]

By Helena Bochořáková-Dittrichová

(1929)

Signed first trade edition of a landmark graphic novel, in extraordinary condition.

Near fine in a near fine jacket.

Price: $12,000.00

Z MÉHO DĚTSTVÍ [From My Childhood]

"Bochořáková-Dittrichová quietly strengthened the case for topics such as domestic life to be seen as legitimate art subjects rather than as easily dismissed female fodder." — Rebecca Gross

A wordless graphic memoir of Bochořáková-Dittrichová's provincial girlhood in the Moravian region of what is now the Czech Republic, Z MÉHO DĚTSTVÍ ("From My Childhood") is widely recognized as the first wordless novel published by a woman. A series of 95 woodcut vignettes ("a novel of impressions" according to David Beronä) printed rectos only that carefully balance the quotidian realities of daily life with the wonder of childhood, DĚTSTVÍ shows the influence of Frans Masereel — the Flemish originator of the form whose work Bochořáková-Dittrichová encountered in Paris — but "is a refreshing divergence from [his] squalor" (Beronä). A rare book, at least in part due to its fragile production, this example is remarkably preserved — especially complete in the original dustjacket. We locate just nine locations in the US (and just three elsewhere), with many major institutions lacking. A beautiful example of this predecessor to Marjane Satrapi, Phoebe Gloeckner, and Alison Bechdel.

Read more: Beronä, Wordless Books: The Original Graphic Novels; Gross, "Bringing an Artist to Light."

The Object

Praha [Prague]: Orbis, (1929). 6" x 4.5". Publisher's cream-colored boards with black printed device matching the original graphic jacket. With an introduction by Czech literary critic and historian Arne Novák. Preceded by a limited edition of 50 hand-numbered copies on Ullersdorf paper and ten signed and numbered copies on Japan paper. 14, [194] pages. Signed by Bochorakova-Dittrichova in pencil to title page. Minor wear to jacket, small chip to top of spine. Mild toning overall. Else remarkably clean and bright.

The Fine Print

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