Kubasta, Vojtech. Slovenske hrady a zamky. Volume 1. Illustrated by Vojtech Kubasta. Text by Valeria Parikova. Prague: Orbis, 1972. First edition. Oblong octavo (21 × 10.5 cm). Original pictorial wrappers. [10] pp. Five double-page pop-up spreads. Text in Slovak.
Condition: Very Fine. All pop-ups complete, bright, and fully functional. Softbound in illustrated pictorial covers, with vibrant, undamaged boards and tight spine. A superior example of one of Kubasta’s rarest and most refined paper-engineered works.
Issued in two volumes, Slovenske hrady a zamky presents iconic castles and chateaux of Slovakia interpreted in vivid color and dimensional depth. Volume 1 includes five dramatic pop-up scenes of Bratislava, Orava, Nitra, Budmerice, and Rusovce castles—each richly illustrated in Kubasta’s signature graphic style with dynamic die-cut layers.
The format reflects Kubasta’s mature phase of paper engineering: tightly bound in a landscape layout, with each castle rendered across a full opening as a fold-out scene. The reverse sides of the spreads feature historical and descriptive text by Valeria Parikova.
Collector’s Corner:
The Czechoslovakia of Kubasta’s day has since become two sovereign nations: the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. Across both lands stand more than 2,400 castles, palaces, and manor houses—testament to a long, tumultuous history of royal dynasties, conquests, and shifting borders.
Note: In 1968, Orbis published a four-volume series titled Vychodoceske hrady a zamky (East Bohemian Castles and Palaces), with pop-ups by Jiri Skopek. While Skopek’s series used medieval-style vignette illustrations and die-cut architectural spreads, Kubasta followed four years later with this Slovak counterpart—an unmistakable leap in sophistication and design.
The Slovenske hrady a zamky books are now among the rarest of Kubasta’s pop-up titles. Their deep cultural relevance and stunning execution make them prized by collectors of both historical architecture and paper engineering.
Referenced by:
Movable Stationary, Volume 24, Number 2 (May 2016), article by Ulrich Tietz, p. 3