Exhibit of the Month: The Czech Bible (1529)

Biblij Cžeska W starem miestije Prazskem wytisstiena: Cum gratia. et Priuilegio Regiae Maiestatis [The Czech Bible Printed in the Old Town of Prague: With Grace and the Privilege of His Royal Majesty]
Prague: Pavel Severin z Kapí Hory, 5 May 1529
NL Prague, shelf mark 54 A 13 (K01098)

The printing house of Pavel Severin z Kapí Hory (died 1553/1554) had been working in Prague since  1520, and today thirty anonymous or signed prints are attributed to it, among which are also two editions of the Czech Bible from 1529 and 1537. The first edition of the Czech Bible, the so-called Severin Bible had been prepared for two years, as evidenced by the dated woodcut with the coat of arms of the Old Town of Prague on the title page – the year 1527 is directly in the emblem on the middle tower. As part of the preparations for the first edition of the Czech Bible, the so-called Severin Studio (a graphic workshop operating in Prague between 1527 and 1542) was built, in which the woodcuts were created illustrating both the whole Severin Bible and a number of other prints published not only by Pavel Severin z Kapí Hory. The artists belonging to the Severin Studio mostly remained anonymous or are marked by a monogram. The leading personality of the studio was a woodcarver – monogramist EWA, who participated in the illustrations of the Old Testament in the Czech Bible. In addition to him there were other monogramists, who worked in the studio, e. g. ME, PS, SMC or HF.

Photo: M. Tichá, NK ČR