Hugo Steiner-Prag

Hugo Steiner (1880, Prague - 1945, New York) was one of the most important Czech-German book authors of the 20th century of Jewish origin, whose work is largely connected with Bohemia. In 1900 he left Prague for Munich, in 1933 he returned to it for anti-Semitic reasons, so that in 1938 he left it for good reasons for the same reasons. Even during his stay in Germany, he kept a studio in Prague. Steiner's contribution lies not only in his independent excellent artistic work, but also in his innovative approach to bookbinding, book promotion and important pedagogical activities. It is unbelievable how many works he managed to create in his life and how many fields he devoted himself to. The overwhelming fact is that much of his work from the German period was destroyed. After the war, he was pushed to the margins of society as well, because his exhibition and organizational work was connected with Leipzig and the Berlin publishing houses, and for the newly formed GDR it was unacceptable to mention Steiner's name as a fundamental anti-communist. For many Germans, his nickname, Prague, belonged to Bohemia. He bothered in the Czech Republic for the same reason as in the GDR and at the same time with his German affiliation. Hugo Steiner-Prag changed the book world as an editor, illustrator, printer and promoter of book production. He spent most of his professional life (33 years) in Germany, but his work remained connected with Prague. Not only cycles of illustrations for the Golem, but also illustrations for Paul Leppin's books or the album Finis Prag. After his forced emigration, he founded the private school Officina Pragensis in Prague, whose pupils set the direction for Czech book design and illustration in the 1960s. The monograph is almost forgotten by the repayment of an age-old debt to an important author, whose work was almost forgotten in the Czech lands, despite his close connection to Prague and his fundamental contribution to the flourishing of Czech culture.