I want to donate my extensive library ...
Over the last 25 years I have accumulated a large library of books relating to modern Czech cultural and political history and the city of Prague. These include works of literature (novels, plays, poems); anthologies of primary documents in art, architecture, film, etc.; biographies, memoirs and correspondence; art exhibition catalogues of various dates, covering many of the most significant 20th– and 21st–century exhibitions in Prague; works of reference; guidebooks and street directories; bound volumes of popular magazines; albums of historic photographs; and secondary works on history, politics, art, architecture, music, theater, film, and the city itself.
The photographs accompanying this post give an indication of the range of the collection, though not every individual item is included. There are around 1050 items in all. I have grouped them in galleries, each of which contains six photos. Click on the individual images to enlarge.
This archive formed the basis for the second and third volumes of my "Prague Trilogy"—Prague, Capital of the Twentieth Century: A Surrealist History (2013) and Postcards from Absurdistan: Prague at the End of History (2022). Now that I have finished the trilogy that began with The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History (1998) and need to downsize, I would like to donate (rather than sell) this collection in its entirety to a suitable institutional library where it can help other researchers.
If you can be of help or have an interest in acquiring this collection please contact me directly at dsayer@ualberta.ca
