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.