Jan Sobota

Loket, Czech Republic 
Jan Sobota received his “Artistic Bookbinding” diploma from the School for Applied Arts in Prague in 1957; the title “Master of Applied Arts” in Czechoslovakia in 1969; and the title “Meister der Einbandkunst” in Germany in 1977. In addition to his bookbinding work, he teaches and lectures widely.

Example Binding: 
Edgard Claes. 
Künstlerische Bucheinbände in Polycarbonat: eine Lehrschrift für Laien und Hobbybuchbinder.
Stuttgart: Fachhochschule, Hochschule der Medien, 2003.

Bradel structure with flying boards. Sewn on four yellow snakeskin strips. Yellow leather headbands. Red goatskin back. Wooden boards covered with mahogany veneer. Wooden relief onlays. Ochre suede flyleaves. Decoration depicting Edgard Claes’s initials.

Design Description: 
Bradel structure with floating back. Green pressed lacquered endpapers. Sewn on four natural tapes. Hand colored silk headbands. Green goatskin back with one fishskin strip on spine. Title and author printed with beige foil. Wooden boards covered with zebra wood veneer. Dark green underlay. Sections on both boards represent the Brazos. Natural material, wood, leather and fishskin, together with modest, unpretentious design reflect the author’s trip on the Brazos River. Slipcase would be similar to the one that is exhibited with the example.