GRANDMASTER NAVARA’S BOOK - MŮJ ŠACHOVÝ SVĚT

Eight beautiful copies bound in genuine leather

[29.07.2015 00:00:00] - Eight numbered copies, printed on the luxury Rivers Basane paper and bound in genuine leather by the grandmaster of bookbinding craft and art Karel Havlík, are ready. The last thing missing is grandmaster Navara’s signature (after he deals with his opponents in the Swiss town of Biel), and then the beautifully designed book can be passed to the possession of eight connoisseurs and collectors.

The book “Můj šachový svět” (My Chess World), written by the best Czech chess player, has so far been available in a standard edition for CZK 390 and a limited edition of one hundred copies for CZK 999. Experts guessed that the best was yet to come and they were right.

Now there are eight numbered copies available, printed by the Akcent printing company in Vimperk on special, hand-made-like paper, and bound with precision in light genuine leather by Karel Havlík, a member of the Society of Czech Bookbinders. The front page features not only the title and name of the author pressed in leather, but also a diagram of a famous game of grandmaster Navara’s, in which he sacrificed the queen.



Karel Havlík is one of the best bookbinders in the Czech Republic. In 2009, he was awarded a prestigious title of Master of Bookbinding in Artistic Bookbinding by the Society of Czech Bookbinders.
Master Havlík was born on 22 May 1950 in Český Brod and after graduating from Gymnázium Karla Čapka in Dobříš he served his apprenticeship as an offset printer in Prague. He acquired his bookbinding education in Loket nad Ohří from Mr. and Mrs. Sobotovi, Masters of Artistic Bookbinding. He is one of the founders of the Society of Czech Bookbinders and his name is featured in the permanent exhibition “Bookbinding throughout the Years” of the Museum of Artistic Bookbinding in Loket nad Ohří. Master Havlík also works for the National Gallery and the National Museum in Prague.

A great success of his was when some of his artistic bindings became part of the bibliophile collections of the National Museum Library (2004). The included books were “Příběhy, pověsti a pohádky paní Hudby” by Anna Hostomská, “Cantervillské strašidlo a jiné prózy by Oscar Wilde, and “Deset kapitol o knižní vazbě” by Pavel Režný.
He won 1st prize for the artistic binding of the book “Pamätnica zrodu SKKS” (publisher - The Society of Slovak Bookbinders) in a Slovak competition with international participants (Skalica, 2001). In September 2008, he came third in the prestigious competition “O cenu Jiřího Faltuse” in Letohrad for the artistic binding of Eduard Petiška’s book “Odysseovy cesty”. He also took fifth place for the book “Poselství dřeva” (authors Václav Šplíchal, Marie Votavová et al.). In June 2009, he participated in the international competition of artistic bookbinders hosted by The Bodleian Library in Oxford with the book “Water”.
He lives and works in Mníšek pod Brdy.



If you would like to purchase a copy of this book (the price is round, just like the number of copies – CZK 8,888), you can do so by e-mail: prazska.sachova@gmail.com. In the order please state your first name, surname, address and telephone number. The luxury edition has only eight copies, so do not hesitate, if you would like to own one: there are not going to be any more published and they will be sold out soon.

| Pavel Matocha | visits(4256x)