Why do I still go on about vintage Czech book illustrations (and illustrators) in 2025? Well, nowadays, books like this are not made anymore and they will not be made ever again. Why? Simply because never again will there be an economic scenario where a publishing house will pay a renowned painter like Adolf Zabransky or Olga Cehova to sit and paint pictures for a children’s book for a year. That is why nowadays children’s illustrations are just blobs and triangles, which you can do in 2 days. Think about that:)
Anyway…. Back to vintage Czech books for children.
For 2 years now I sell antique Slavic books.
Which illustrators from the Czech Republic caught my eye the most during this time and why?
- Otto Usak
Classic, dreamy pictures for children with a slightly Fallout-aesthetic feel to it.
Fun fact: Otto Usak is known on the internet from his mushroom illustrations. I actually have vintage Polish botanical books with spectacular intricate engravings and I was surprised to learn that they were all made by Czech painters. When I shared this with a friend, he told me that he, too, has vintage mushroom books with Czech illustrations, and that it was widely known during Soviet times that Czech painters were top of the top when it comes to botanical illustration.
- Mirko Hanak
Born in Slovakia, he became famous for his portraits of the nature in specific regions of Slovakia and Moravia, depicting animals, birds and plants native to Slavic lands.
- Olga Cehova
I know her from a book “Jezefcikem to Zacina”. She surprised me with her watercolor illustrations with slightly whimsical tone, that reminded me of famous “Jak działa jamniczek” by Julian Antonisz (which I 100% recommend!)
- Artus Scheiner
A Czech painter famous for his art-deco style illustrations, that are a great backdrop to the most iconic Czech stories for children.
- Zdenek Brdlik
The most romantic, etheric style of vintage Czech illustrations, great for depictions of nature and animals native to Czech land.
- Miloslav Jagr
His colorful, childish style reminds me of artists like Marian Ociepka or Wiktor Gorazdowski (naive art we call it in Poland), but here a slight silliness is certainly a conscious artistic choice.
- Ivana Pavlova
I didn’t expect much from some obscure Czech edition of… Serbian fairytales. But that’s the thing with vintage Slavic books for children: people did care on every level from governments to painters and we are left with thousands of books of museum-grade value, like Ivana Pavlova’s kinda hippie, kinda trippy illustrations from the 1978.
8. Miloslav Troup
A style slightly similar to Pavlova’s and I love those colours, because for some reason nowadays everything looks like there are some communist-style problems with ink supply or something, and they can use only 3 colours…
But back to Miloslav Troup: my heart just jumps in happiness when I see these and I could wallpaper it all over my child’s room:)
9. Jelena Ladova
Josef Lada started around the 1960s the so-called Czech art of children illustrations: simple, soft and easy to understand, and Jelena Ladova is a great example of that and his… daughter.
10. Jozef Lada
… Having mention Jozef Lada – his funny, simple illustrations are a classic and if You don’t know what to buy for a child or a seasoned Czech – just start with his universal, classic works.
11. Adolf Zabransky
He must have had a pretty productive life, as even I – knowing nothing on Czech vintage illustrations – already came across 6 of his books illustrated between 1969 and 1978. Versatile, imaginative painter, who is one of the Czech’s more prominent.
And what is Your favorite Czech painter? Are You looking for a specific Czech book? Let me know here or on Insta:)
