SOLD Kubasta - 1960's Mecca Pop-up Book - Very Fine - Mint - Artia with original seal!

Artia

KUBASTA, Vojtech (illustrator).

Al-Hajar al-Aswad (The Black Stone) [Pop-Up Book]. Prague: Artia, [ca. 1955]. First edition. Pop-up panorama (32.3 x 23 cm closed; 32.3 x 45.7 cm open; 14.3 cm height when standing). Color pictorial boards with integral color-illustrated pop-up scene of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, featuring the Ka'ba and surrounding structures.

Mint condition. Unused, with all structural elements intact and functional. Retains the original ARTIA publisher's seal affixed to the lower right of the front board—an extremely rare feature on this title.

One of the only known pop-up representations of Mecca’s Masjid al-Haram by Vojtech Kubasta (1914–1992), this architectural panorama includes a central three-dimensional rendering of the Ka’ba, pilgrims in traditional dress, and surrounding buildings, including the Bani Shayba gate and Zamzam water structure—elements that were later removed during renovations after the 1960s.

The verso of the unfolded base features captioned photographs of Hajj sites. This edition is believed to have been issued around 1955, consistent with entries in Kubasta’s privately printed bibliography. The unusually present ARTIA seal—typically reserved for officially sanctioned export copies—suggests this may have been part of a small international distribution run or possibly a presentation or prototype copy.

Provenance: Acquired directly from the estate of Vojtech Kubasta.

About Artia:
Artia was a Cold War–era government-run publishing and export company based in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It operated primarily from 1952 to 1967, publishing a wide array of children’s books for international distribution, including the acclaimed works of Czech illustrator and paper engineer Vojtech Kubasta. Artia functioned as the cultural export division of the Czechoslovak government, tasked with promoting national artistry abroad. Its imprint became synonymous with high-quality illustrated books, especially pop-ups, which were distributed in dozens of countries across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Artia’s pop-up books are now regarded as some of the most technically innovative and visually distinctive examples of mid-20th-century paper engineering. In the 1960s and 1970s, the company also became involved in producing materials for state-sanctioned cultural diplomacy, sometimes showcasing works like Kubašta’s at trade fairs, embassies, or literary exhibitions.

About the seal:
ARTIA is a trademark of ARTIA, PODNIK ZAHRANIČNÍHO OBCHODU PRO DOVOZ A VÝVOZ KULTURNÍCH STATKŮ. This trademark was officially filed on April 15, 1965, and appears on authentic first editions issued by Artia for international markets. The ARTIA seal was typically used on certified export editions of books printed for foreign markets. Its presence suggests this copy was part of a small intended batch for official international distribution—or possibly a presentation or pre-export sample. The presence of the ARTIA seal on this copy is highly unusual. Although Artia did use seals on export editions, few—if any—known copies of Kubasta’s al-Hajar al-Aswad carry this mark. This copy was acquired directly from Kubasta’s estate, and the seal may indicate a prototype, presentation, or early export sample. Its uniqueness enhances the collector value and provenance of this particular copy. It is possible that this version was intended for internal review, foreign ministry display, or use in diplomatic gift-giving, as Artia often prepared limited presentation runs for such purposes.

About this publication:
Vojtech Kubasta’s privately printed bibliography lists this Mecca pop-up as dating to 1955, making it one of his earlier works. Designed in his patented Panascopic format—combining fold-out panoramas with pop-up engineering—this version features no internal text and includes both illustration and photographic elements. This copy retains the original Artia seal and represents one of the earliest Czech printings of the work. The Panascopic format, which Kubasta patented in Czechoslovakia, was revolutionary at the time. It offered immersive, fold-out visual narratives with complex layering and paper mechanics, often enhanced by photographic inserts, as seen in this Mecca scene. The lack of text in this edition suggests it was created for visual communication across linguistic and cultural lines, a strategy well-suited to Artia's international export goals.

The architectural rendering is notably detailed and topographically accurate. Scholars have observed that Kubasta likely relied on real photographic references to ensure precision in elements such as the Ka-ba’s roofline and the geometric spacing of its surrounding colonnades. A rare museum-held copy includes hand-labeled minarets and gates, suggesting Kubasta’s attention to religious and spatial fidelity. The layout corresponds exactly to the version held by the Khalili Collections (inventory no. ARC.mx 238), which further confirms the accuracy of the measurements and architectural portrayal. In that example and others held in European archives, scholars have noted Kubasta’s attention to detail, such as the inclusion of labeled minarets, Ka’ba roofline definition, and correct spatial relations between the mosque's outer colonnades and inner sanctuary.

The Mecca pop-up was also exhibited in retrospective collections, including at the Grolier Club in New York, which highlighted Kubasta’s influence on modern movable book design. One early report even suggested the image was originally created for Jordan, due to the inclusion of a small photographic portrait of King Hussein in some variants—though this version appears focused solely on Mecca without such personalization.

The work also appears in the Museum With No Frontiers Islamic Art Database and in the Khalili Family Trust’s renowned Hajj and pilgrimage collection, confirming its cultural and curatorial relevance.

Although later versions of this pop-up were exported, this original edition was not produced specifically for the Iranian market. According to a groundbreaking essay published in The Life and Art of Vojtech Kubasta by Ellen G. K. Rubin, in 1977—more than two decades after this work was first printed—Artia's Foreign Trade Corporation exported nine of Kubasta's titles to Iran, adapted for the Farsi-speaking market. These later editions used the same Panascopic format but were modified to remove text entirely and focus more heavily on photographic depictions. The copy offered here predates that export initiative and should not be confused with those later Iranian issues. It represents Kubasta’s original artistic vision as executed in the mid-1950s, rather than the culturally tailored adaptations that followed in the late 1970s.

About the subject matter:
This book is a visual representation of the Hajj pilgrimage—its rituals, sacred geography, and the spiritual journey undertaken by Muslims from around the world.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and a once-in-a-lifetime obligation—often involving immense physical, financial, and emotional effort. Pilgrims have come from Africa, Asia, Europe, and beyond—converging along ancient caravan routes through cities like Cairo, Damascus, Istanbul, and Delhi. The pop-up, while static, powerfully symbolizes this global convergence on a single sacred space. The sheer mass of white-robed bodies circling the Ka-ba—captured in this scene—is one of the most visually iconic and spiritually moving images in world religion.

The Black Stone of the Kaaba, or Mecca in Arabic, is called al-Hajar al-Aswad. According to Islamic tradition, this Muslim relic dates back to the time of Adam and Eve. It is the eastern cornerstone of the Kaaba, the ancient sacred stone structure at the center of the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca, Saudi Arabia—toward which all Muslims pray. The Stone, now broken into fragments and bound in a silver frame, has been polished smooth over centuries by the hands of millions of pilgrims. Although often speculated to be a meteorite, this theory remains unproven. Its veneration as a sacred object is central to many Islamic traditions.

The cover illustration shows a man placing his hand on the Black Stone, and the back panel contains six photographic views of key Hajj pilgrimage sites, including Mina, the Jamarat, and Muzdalifa. The pop-up scene itself portrays the haram (sacred enclosure) with pilgrims and the Ka-ba at its center, surrounded by buildings that were later removed in the 1960s to accommodate increased pilgrimage traffic. These structures include the Bani Shayba gate and the historic Zamzam water distribution building, both of which are now gone. Kubasta’s rendering captures a historical Mecca that no longer exists in physical form, preserving in vivid detail architectural elements that have since been lost to modern redevelopment. The pop-up thus serves as both a collector’s treasure and a visual archive of sacred architecture now erased by time and urban expansion.